May 3, 2025 • 18 mins
In this Executive Spotlight, Loyalty360 CEO Mark Johnson speaks with Tim Glomb, Head of Operational AI at Wunderkind. Glomb’s unconventional journey—from touring the world with platinum-selling rock bands to producing for MTV and now leading AI operations at a marketing technology powerhouse—offers a fresh, candid view on the future of customer loyalty. With decades of experience on both the brand and tech sides of the fence, Glomb shares his no-nonsense take on brand integration, data activation, AI education, and why mentorship and community matter more than ever.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Good afternoon, good morning.
This is Mark Johnson fromLoyalty360.
I want to welcome everyone backto our new interview series,
the Loyalty360 ExecutiveSpotlight.
It's part of our leaders incustomer loyalty series.
In this series, we have theprivilege of speaking, with
conversations and talking withsome of the most enlightened
minds in the customer loyaltyand customer experience field.
They are running programs, butthey're also bringing great
(00:25):
advice to the brands andmarketers out there that need
that.
All of them are members ofLoyalty360, and these are a more
personal interview with theindividual who's running the
program about where they are,how they got to where they are
and maybe some life lessonsthey've learned along the way.
And today we have the pleasureto speak with Tim Glom.
He is the Vice President ofDigital Content and AI at
(00:46):
Wunderkin.
How are we today, tim Great,mark, good to see you again.
Great, always having a chanceto connect with you.
First off, for those who don'tknow you or know kind of about
your unique background, it wouldbe great to let the audience
know a little bit more about you.
You found obviously a way intothe space, but you have a very
unique and rich background onthe brand side and we'd love to
(01:09):
hear a little bit more aboutthat.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yeah, I'm a little bit of a pinball machine when
getting up to here.
So, former brand marketer good10, 15 years on the brand
marketing side, b2c space,working for the likes of Mark
Cuban and some private equityfirms.
So I've spent a lot of time onthe brand marketing side Now for
the last 10 years, plus alittle over 10 years I've been
(01:33):
on the technology side, so inthe MarTech space specifically
to build relationships andtechnologies that actually meet
the goals of the marketer.
So I feel like I have a prettygood feel of both sides of that
fence the goals of the marketer.
So I feel like I have a prettygood feel of both sides of that
fence.
And then, you know, way, way,way back in the 20, 30 year plus
was sports entertainment, music, capital, records that kind of
(01:57):
stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
So entertainment into brand marketing, now into
technology who knew?
Excellent.
When you look at customerloyalty, you know, is there a
trend that you're excited aboutand what is it?
And and uh, how is wondering,preparing for, uh, the trend?
Speaker 2 (02:09):
yeah, so, for me, I love loyalty.
I'm a I'm a huge fan of certainbrands, um, for different
reasons, that I connect to themand use them repeatedly, united
airlines being one that I love.
Yeah, um, for me, it's aboutthe democratization of all of
this information, includingloyalty information.
So, when you can really you intoday's day and age, with AI and
(02:29):
just the advancements in servertechnology, there's more we can
do right now, through all myemails, through my onsite
experience even if I'm notlogged in because I just want to
(02:49):
do a quick hit with Patagoniaor United, you know, being able
to unlock that loyalty data,make me me on your website or my
experience, I think that's whatI'm most excited about today.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Excellent.
So, tim, you have a very uniquebackground.
You mentioned the brandexperience you have with sports
entertainment.
You've obviously done asignificant amount of
collaboration in the past.
Now, when you look at kind ofthe state of customer loyalty,
the marketing experience youhave, if you could collaborate
with any brand or industry tocreate a groundbreaking customer
(03:19):
experience or customer loyaltyprogram, who would it be and why
?
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Yeah, you know, what comes to mind for me is
Patagonia.
I'm a big outdoor person.
I love the brand, I love that.
You know they turned the brandover to the globe.
It's all about saving the globeand I think that's a.
I think that's a bold move froma company standpoint.
Secondly, patagonia is allabout experience.
I just got their recent catalogin the mail, which I don't
normally look at print mail thatcomes through, but it's a book,
(03:46):
it's a story, it's a journey.
It's not selling me waders or aUV fishing shirt.
Sure, I can do that inside, butthe experience is great.
So, I think, bringing Patagoniainto my life everywhere I go.
I just got back from Londonyesterday.
I'm going to be on another triplater this week.
That's where I think brands needto live, the ones that really
(04:08):
truly connect with our customers.
You know there'scommodity-based brands.
Yeah, of course I need toiletpaper, I need these other things
.
I don't know that I'm going tobuild a big loyalty you know
momentum with my toilet paperbrand, but the brands that I
live and feel.
I think now, with technology,ai, what's available, what
consumers have in their hands,they have like a limitless
(04:30):
potential for weaving themselvesinto everyday experiences.
That doesn't mean you knowthey're trying to sell me
constantly.
I'm just living the brand, I'mevangelizing the brand and look,
I'm talking about patagonia.
So that's what I'm talkingabout the brands that you know
and love, that you always thinkabout when you have your spare
time and you're having thosegood moments.
That's a brand I'd love to workwith.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Excellent.
When you look at customerexperience, it's a very relevant
topic.
You and I have had numerousdiscussions about it over the
years.
When you look at the industry,you know what's the single
biggest factor that influences agreat customer experience and
unlocking the data that'savailable on a given consumer.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
We live in an age, you know, I worked for Scott
McNeely, you know, founder ofSun Microsystem, who famously in
the 90s went in front ofCongress and said privacy's dead
, get over it.
I agree with that.
I think most brands are in thebusiness of using privacy for
good, to enhance an experience,enhance your life.
That's why they exist.
You know, I think mostconsumers, especially younger
(05:36):
consumers that we talk about andwe survey a lot, don't really
worry about nefarious use oftheir data.
So if we're accepting that,that brands have access to me
and my data because I cruisearound the web and I do things
unleashing and unlocking it, Ithink that's the real potential.
I think if brands are lookingat partners who can help both
collect, obtain and use thatdata for a better experience,
(05:57):
that's where the future is.
I mean, that's where we aretoday with some brands.
But that's what I'm extremelyexcited to see brands is unlock
the data they have on consumersto make a better experience.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
So, tim, when you look at being able to understand
, unlock data, access thedifferent data points to
increase the efficacy of thecustomer experience efforts, how
should brands be focusing onthat?
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Yeah, look, number one, don't try and do all this
yourself.
You're very good at being yourbrand, whether you make widgets
or experiences or hotels sellingairline flights.
Do what you do and do it well.
There are a million, literally.
I feel like there's about amillion companies out there that
have data and can manipulatedata to make your experience
(06:41):
better with your customers.
So lean on those companies.
Don't try and build an identitygraph.
Don't try and build some giantthing that detracts you from
what you do really well, whichis keep your brand and then also
just keep compliance in mind.
Look at who else is using thosevendors that have access to
data and then, lastly, are theyflexible and adaptable?
(07:01):
The things that they do well,like at Wunderkin?
We're an identity graph.
Can they actually integratethat in a meaningful way to
quickly, seamlessly, easily andcost-effectively enhance your
consumer experience?
Then that's what you should belooking at, but don't.
The one recommendation I'd haveis don't try and be everything
to everyone.
Just be your brand and go findthe right partners that can
(07:23):
execute, you know, a bettercustomer experience with you.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Okay, where did you attend college?
Speaker 2 (07:29):
I went to Westchester University and I did not
graduate.
I couldn't take it, and this isa time where I feel bad for
kids right now deciding whatthey're going to do and I have
one who has to make a decisionfor this September.
Do you go laden yourself withfurther education and a giant
bill at the end of it Hopefullyyou get grand or something or do
(07:50):
you actually go out into thereal world and just see how
things operate?
And for me that was the bestpath.
It was getting straight in.
So I left college early, wentright into the road in the music
business and the rest ishistory.
I feel like I've learned morefrom real world hands on
experience getting my handsdirty than any textbook or not
(08:10):
to belittle it, but some teacherwho's locked in a classroom
teaching the same curriculumyear over year.
I just it wasn't for me.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
That makes perfect sense, so you kind of started to
allude to it.
You know what was your firstjob after college?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Yeah, so I got wrapped up into the music world.
It was a fun one.
I ended up touring the globewith bands like Motley Crue.
I helped manage a band,everclear.
It was a huge platinum-sellingartist in the early 90s and that
quickly evolved through musicas music changed and became
digitized and selling a CDwasn't really a thing anymore
into television.
So I moved over to televisionproducing the Jackass Guys, a
(08:46):
ton of stuff for MTV.
That's where brand marketing,brand inclusion came in and
moved on into the brand worldwith large agencies and doing
branded content.
I feel like content's been mycommon thread Entertainment and
content's been my thread for thelast 30 years.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Okay, when you look at your first job, what was
something you learned in thatrole and how has that translated
to your success in marketing?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Yeah, I learned a harsh lesson one day when we
were doing a Saturday Night Livewith the band Everclear.
We got cut.
John Goodman was the host.
It was his, I think, seventh oreighth appearance.
He was the person who hadhosted the most and they gave
him an extra segment in realtime.
They made a decision right onthe fly.
They were going to give him onemore segment which cut a song.
(09:38):
You know most bands play twosongs on saturday night live
usually play your hit first,that everyone knows, and then
you play your new one to getpeople jazzed at least.
Back then and they cut us and Isaid, oh yeah, I understand,
it's john goodman, sarah, thisand that, and uh, in hindsight
should have never done that,should never let them do that,
and we should have been uh, moreaggressive and saying no, this
is why we're here, this is whatwe need to do.
That.
And we should have been moreaggressive in saying no, this is
why we're here, this is what weneed to do.
You told us we could play twosongs.
So it was a moment in time in alive television event, but the
(10:04):
ramifications of that wereendless and it taught me very
quickly fight for what yourbrand needs.
Fight for what you need to dowithin your brand and take
advantage of everything that'sbeen afforded you and clearly
promised, so fight.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Don't roll over.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Don't take no for an answer.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
There you go, so kind of building off that what's the
best work advice you've everbeen given.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Best work advice.
Mark Cuban is always big intoreading manuals.
We can call it softwaretechnology.
You're buying, you know, accessto some technology.
He literally he would readeverything that his companies
were using.
That was part of my job is gofind the right technologies to
bring in and scale across 150brands in the Mark Cuban
(10:47):
company's organization.
Knowing what the things you'reinvesting in can do and what
they should do is far differentthan just listening to a
salesperson say, oh yeah, it'lldo X, y and Z Cool.
Sign the deal.
You should know somebody inyour organization should be an
expert.
They should actually be betterat the tools you're investing in
(11:08):
than the company who's actuallyserving you the tools.
I really like it when ourclients lean forward and know as
much or have ideas beyond whatwe think our technologies can do
.
So that's the one thing I'vealways learned is digging hard.
I know you like to read, youlike to get into the weeds and
understand.
I think that's a great traitthat everybody should really
(11:28):
consider.
And even if you don't have thebandwidth to do it, find someone
on your team who's dedicated tobecoming the expert of all the
tools that you use to bring yourbrand to life.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Absolutely.
When you look at your day jobgreat, very successful what's a
passion outside of work that youenjoy?
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Yeah, I'm a big outdoorsman.
I'm outside.
I live at 10,000 feet on top ofa mountain.
Today I'm in my Denver office,but I'm outside.
I don't own a TV in my house.
We don't look at TVs, we lookat these grand views of the
mountains and then I wait forthree, four o'clock to come Most
of my team's in Europe and UK,so I'm early schedule.
I get out there, I get into it,I go fishing.
(12:08):
Right now it's spring Greattime to go out and get some
tight lines on some trout andjust be outside, get that
sunshine.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
That's excellent no-transcript.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
You know, bringing innovation.
Right now I'm head ofoperational AI at Wunderkind,
which Wunderkind is a greatAI-driven team product that does
amazing things with AI.
But inside, operationally howwe operate from business to
finance, to HR, to legal, toeverything, you know there's
still a learning curve.
Ai is still fairly new in anoperational and enterprise
(12:44):
environment.
So I'm really, really excitedat the innovation we're bringing
, the efficiencies that we'rebringing into an organization.
It's what I've been doing, youknow, at past places like
Cheetah Digital and thenMarigold, et cetera, and I'm
really excited to do it herewith the advent of AI and the
scalability of AI inside of theWunderkin org.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Okay, if you could bring one great change to the
workforce, what would that beand why?
Speaker 2 (13:11):
I think it would be accelerating what AI can do the
education to your entireorganization.
Everyone from you know we havegreat staff in our World Trade
Center office and they bring inthe lunches and they keep the
office going and it's awesome.
Ai can help them right.
And they aren't always thinkingabout that because they do
physical things and orderingfood and setting up tables and
(13:31):
chairs.
But the education opportunityfor any organization I don't
care what industry you're in, Idon't care where you are in the
globe AI can come in and makeyour people more efficient and
not more efficient just fromlike a numbers and revenue
perspective, but more efficientas human beings.
I've actually I've seen thelight bulb turn on and some of
my younger employees here atWunderkind when they start to
(13:54):
see what's possible with AI.
And I've had somebody you knowrecently come to me when I was
in the World Trade Centerrecently and they said, tim, I
applied what I learned here youwere showing me for for work
with AI to my own personalfinances and you know I'm more
educated now and I have somebetter outcomes.
So I think AI is going toabsolutely change the game.
I think it's going to take fiveto 10 years for full adoption,
(14:15):
but much like cell phones, youknow, our kids, younger
generations it's in their handfrom day one.
I think AI is going to be agame changer, so I love the
opportunity to educate people onwhat it can do and then also
learn learn to myself as well.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Excellent.
You know you were very activewithin the Loaty360 community.
You know what are a couple ofthings you like about the
community and maybe what wouldyou like to see more of.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Yeah, look, it's great.
I've been a huge proponent here.
I've been at multiple companieswhere I've mandated hey, we
have to be a vendor in theprogram.
We have to be a vendor in theprogram, we have to be a partner
in some way.
I think the people that areinside the organization your
brand clients, your brandassociates they're always
leaning forward, they alwayswant to know more and it goes
back to that education, thatthirst for knowledge.
So I think Loyalty360 has builta great organization where
(15:01):
people can come in, they canfeel safe, they can ask stupid
questions, but at the end of theday, there are no dumb
questions, right, we just wantto learn, we just want to help
each other, we want to increaseour value.
And then also, I've seenrelationships being built there
where people move fromorganization to organization.
But this kind of becomes one ofour common anchor communities
that we can keep coming back to.
(15:22):
As I mentioned, I think I'm onmy fourth company that's been
involved with Loyalty360, but Istill see some of the same
brands and or people that I'vebeen working with and met here
over the years.
They might be at differentbrands now but they're still in
it because they see the valueand they see the community
aspect.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Absolutely Last question.
We like to end these with somewords of wisdom for marketers,
customer loyalty professionals,who may be new to developing
effective customer loyaltystrategies best be new to
developing effective customerloyalty strategies, best
marketing practices andelevating customer experience.
What's a piece of advice thatyou can offer them that could be
very helpful?
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Yeah, look at mentorship and even if it's not
a formal mentorship, with one ortwo people that you can
identify, that have the time tohelp you.
But, just like I said aboutLoyalty360, get into those
organizations, lean in, make thetime.
I know we're all busy, you knowactivating our jobs at work and
we've got our to-dos, but lookat the opportunity you have for
education and even if you thinkyou have a great idea or if you
(16:21):
have a challenge that you're notsure how to tackle, somebody
has already done this.
I mean, no one's reinventingthe wheel for the most part.
So lean in, go find somebody,go ask a question.
Ask Mark, you know, ask theloyalty 360 org.
Hey, we're thinking about X, Yand Z.
Do you know anybody that'salready gone through these
hurdles and these hoops, madesome missteps and hopefully we
(16:41):
don't step in those potholes.
I would say just find time tofind resources.
There are people out there.
I'm one of them.
I'd love to talk to people andexplain my experience if we can
help them in any given way.
Find somebody that's going tohelp you navigate new territory
for you, because it'll be mucheasier to get advice and
experience from someone elsewho's already done what you're
(17:04):
trying to achieve.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Well, excellent, tim.
Thank you very much for takingthe time to speak with us today
on the Executive Spotlightepisode.
It was great speaking with you,as it always is.
I think you obviously alwayshave the passion that you exude,
but kind of a non-traditionalpath to success is great to hear
, and you always seem to thecompanies you worked for in the
(17:27):
past have a very unique passionand interest to grow and expand
your horizon.
So it's great and I think thatlisteners can definitely learn
from that.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Great Mark.
I always appreciate theopportunity.
It's always been good talkingto you about any of these things
, so again, just appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
Absolutely.
Thank you everyone for takingthe time to join us today on our
Executive Spotlight.
Please make sure to join usevery Saturday for a new edition
of the podcast and look forwardto having you back every week.
Until then, have a wonderfulday.
Good afternoon, good morning.
This is Mark Johnson fromLoyalty360.
I want to welcome everyone backto our new interview series,
the Loyalty360 ExecutiveSpotlight.
It's part of our leaders incustomer loyalty series.
In this series, we have theprivilege of speaking, with
conversations and talking withsome of the most enlightened
minds in the customer loyaltyand customer experience field.
They are running programs, butthey're also bringing great
(00:25):
advice to the brands andmarketers out there that need
that.
All of them are members ofLoyalty360, and these are a more
personal interview with theindividual who's running the
program about where they are,how they got to where they are
and maybe some life lessonsthey've learned along the way.
And today we have the pleasureto speak with Tim Glom.
He is the Vice President ofDigital Content and AI at
(00:46):
Wunderkin.
How are we today, tim Great,mark, good to see you again.
Great, always having a chanceto connect with you.
First off, for those who don'tknow you or know kind of about
your unique background, it wouldbe great to let the audience
know a little bit more about you.
You found obviously a way intothe space, but you have a very
unique and rich background onthe brand side and we'd love to
(01:09):
hear a little bit more aboutthat.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yeah, I'm a little bit of a pinball machine when
getting up to here.
So, former brand marketer good10, 15 years on the brand
marketing side, b2c space,working for the likes of Mark
Cuban and some private equityfirms.
So I've spent a lot of time onthe brand marketing side Now for
the last 10 years, plus alittle over 10 years I've been
(01:33):
on the technology side, so inthe MarTech space specifically
to build relationships andtechnologies that actually meet
the goals of the marketer.
So I feel like I have a prettygood feel of both sides of that
fence the goals of the marketer.
So I feel like I have a prettygood feel of both sides of that
fence.
And then, you know, way, way,way back in the 20, 30 year plus
was sports entertainment, music, capital, records that kind of
(01:57):
stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
So entertainment into brand marketing, now into
technology who knew?
Excellent.
When you look at customerloyalty, you know, is there a
trend that you're excited aboutand what is it?
And and uh, how is wondering,preparing for, uh, the trend?
Speaker 2 (02:09):
yeah, so, for me, I love loyalty.
I'm a I'm a huge fan of certainbrands, um, for different
reasons, that I connect to themand use them repeatedly, united
airlines being one that I love.
Yeah, um, for me, it's aboutthe democratization of all of
this information, includingloyalty information.
So, when you can really you intoday's day and age, with AI and
(02:29):
just the advancements in servertechnology, there's more we can
do right now, through all myemails, through my onsite
experience even if I'm notlogged in because I just want to
(02:49):
do a quick hit with Patagoniaor United, you know, being able
to unlock that loyalty data,make me me on your website or my
experience, I think that's whatI'm most excited about today.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Excellent.
So, tim, you have a very uniquebackground.
You mentioned the brandexperience you have with sports
entertainment.
You've obviously done asignificant amount of
collaboration in the past.
Now, when you look at kind ofthe state of customer loyalty,
the marketing experience youhave, if you could collaborate
with any brand or industry tocreate a groundbreaking customer
(03:19):
experience or customer loyaltyprogram, who would it be and why
?
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Yeah, you know, what comes to mind for me is
Patagonia.
I'm a big outdoor person.
I love the brand, I love that.
You know they turned the brandover to the globe.
It's all about saving the globeand I think that's a.
I think that's a bold move froma company standpoint.
Secondly, patagonia is allabout experience.
I just got their recent catalogin the mail, which I don't
normally look at print mail thatcomes through, but it's a book,
(03:46):
it's a story, it's a journey.
It's not selling me waders or aUV fishing shirt.
Sure, I can do that inside, butthe experience is great.
So, I think, bringing Patagoniainto my life everywhere I go.
I just got back from Londonyesterday.
I'm going to be on another triplater this week.
That's where I think brands needto live, the ones that really
(04:08):
truly connect with our customers.
You know there'scommodity-based brands.
Yeah, of course I need toiletpaper, I need these other things
.
I don't know that I'm going tobuild a big loyalty you know
momentum with my toilet paperbrand, but the brands that I
live and feel.
I think now, with technology,ai, what's available, what
consumers have in their hands,they have like a limitless
(04:30):
potential for weaving themselvesinto everyday experiences.
That doesn't mean you knowthey're trying to sell me
constantly.
I'm just living the brand, I'mevangelizing the brand and look,
I'm talking about patagonia.
So that's what I'm talkingabout the brands that you know
and love, that you always thinkabout when you have your spare
time and you're having thosegood moments.
That's a brand I'd love to workwith.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Excellent.
When you look at customerexperience, it's a very relevant
topic.
You and I have had numerousdiscussions about it over the
years.
When you look at the industry,you know what's the single
biggest factor that influences agreat customer experience and
unlocking the data that'savailable on a given consumer.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
We live in an age, you know, I worked for Scott
McNeely, you know, founder ofSun Microsystem, who famously in
the 90s went in front ofCongress and said privacy's dead
, get over it.
I agree with that.
I think most brands are in thebusiness of using privacy for
good, to enhance an experience,enhance your life.
That's why they exist.
You know, I think mostconsumers, especially younger
(05:36):
consumers that we talk about andwe survey a lot, don't really
worry about nefarious use oftheir data.
So if we're accepting that,that brands have access to me
and my data because I cruisearound the web and I do things
unleashing and unlocking it, Ithink that's the real potential.
I think if brands are lookingat partners who can help both
collect, obtain and use thatdata for a better experience,
(05:57):
that's where the future is.
I mean, that's where we aretoday with some brands.
But that's what I'm extremelyexcited to see brands is unlock
the data they have on consumersto make a better experience.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
So, tim, when you look at being able to understand
, unlock data, access thedifferent data points to
increase the efficacy of thecustomer experience efforts, how
should brands be focusing onthat?
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Yeah, look, number one, don't try and do all this
yourself.
You're very good at being yourbrand, whether you make widgets
or experiences or hotels sellingairline flights.
Do what you do and do it well.
There are a million, literally.
I feel like there's about amillion companies out there that
have data and can manipulatedata to make your experience
(06:41):
better with your customers.
So lean on those companies.
Don't try and build an identitygraph.
Don't try and build some giantthing that detracts you from
what you do really well, whichis keep your brand and then also
just keep compliance in mind.
Look at who else is using thosevendors that have access to
data and then, lastly, are theyflexible and adaptable?
(07:01):
The things that they do well,like at Wunderkin?
We're an identity graph.
Can they actually integratethat in a meaningful way to
quickly, seamlessly, easily andcost-effectively enhance your
consumer experience?
Then that's what you should belooking at, but don't.
The one recommendation I'd haveis don't try and be everything
to everyone.
Just be your brand and go findthe right partners that can
(07:23):
execute, you know, a bettercustomer experience with you.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Okay, where did you attend college?
Speaker 2 (07:29):
I went to Westchester University and I did not
graduate.
I couldn't take it, and this isa time where I feel bad for
kids right now deciding whatthey're going to do and I have
one who has to make a decisionfor this September.
Do you go laden yourself withfurther education and a giant
bill at the end of it Hopefullyyou get grand or something or do
(07:50):
you actually go out into thereal world and just see how
things operate?
And for me that was the bestpath.
It was getting straight in.
So I left college early, wentright into the road in the music
business and the rest ishistory.
I feel like I've learned morefrom real world hands on
experience getting my handsdirty than any textbook or not
(08:10):
to belittle it, but some teacherwho's locked in a classroom
teaching the same curriculumyear over year.
I just it wasn't for me.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
That makes perfect sense, so you kind of started to
allude to it.
You know what was your firstjob after college?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Yeah, so I got wrapped up into the music world.
It was a fun one.
I ended up touring the globewith bands like Motley Crue.
I helped manage a band,everclear.
It was a huge platinum-sellingartist in the early 90s and that
quickly evolved through musicas music changed and became
digitized and selling a CDwasn't really a thing anymore
into television.
So I moved over to televisionproducing the Jackass Guys, a
(08:46):
ton of stuff for MTV.
That's where brand marketing,brand inclusion came in and
moved on into the brand worldwith large agencies and doing
branded content.
I feel like content's been mycommon thread Entertainment and
content's been my thread for thelast 30 years.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Okay, when you look at your first job, what was
something you learned in thatrole and how has that translated
to your success in marketing?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Yeah, I learned a harsh lesson one day when we
were doing a Saturday Night Livewith the band Everclear.
We got cut.
John Goodman was the host.
It was his, I think, seventh oreighth appearance.
He was the person who hadhosted the most and they gave
him an extra segment in realtime.
They made a decision right onthe fly.
They were going to give him onemore segment which cut a song.
(09:38):
You know most bands play twosongs on saturday night live
usually play your hit first,that everyone knows, and then
you play your new one to getpeople jazzed at least.
Back then and they cut us and Isaid, oh yeah, I understand,
it's john goodman, sarah, thisand that, and uh, in hindsight
should have never done that,should never let them do that,
and we should have been uh, moreaggressive and saying no, this
is why we're here, this is whatwe need to do.
That.
And we should have been moreaggressive in saying no, this is
why we're here, this is what weneed to do.
You told us we could play twosongs.
So it was a moment in time in alive television event, but the
(10:04):
ramifications of that wereendless and it taught me very
quickly fight for what yourbrand needs.
Fight for what you need to dowithin your brand and take
advantage of everything that'sbeen afforded you and clearly
promised, so fight.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Don't roll over.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Don't take no for an answer.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
There you go, so kind of building off that what's the
best work advice you've everbeen given.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Best work advice.
Mark Cuban is always big intoreading manuals.
We can call it softwaretechnology.
You're buying, you know, accessto some technology.
He literally he would readeverything that his companies
were using.
That was part of my job is gofind the right technologies to
bring in and scale across 150brands in the Mark Cuban
(10:47):
company's organization.
Knowing what the things you'reinvesting in can do and what
they should do is far differentthan just listening to a
salesperson say, oh yeah, it'lldo X, y and Z Cool.
Sign the deal.
You should know somebody inyour organization should be an
expert.
They should actually be betterat the tools you're investing in
(11:08):
than the company who's actuallyserving you the tools.
I really like it when ourclients lean forward and know as
much or have ideas beyond whatwe think our technologies can do
.
So that's the one thing I'vealways learned is digging hard.
I know you like to read, youlike to get into the weeds and
understand.
I think that's a great traitthat everybody should really
(11:28):
consider.
And even if you don't have thebandwidth to do it, find someone
on your team who's dedicated tobecoming the expert of all the
tools that you use to bring yourbrand to life.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Absolutely.
When you look at your day jobgreat, very successful what's a
passion outside of work that youenjoy?
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Yeah, I'm a big outdoorsman.
I'm outside.
I live at 10,000 feet on top ofa mountain.
Today I'm in my Denver office,but I'm outside.
I don't own a TV in my house.
We don't look at TVs, we lookat these grand views of the
mountains and then I wait forthree, four o'clock to come Most
of my team's in Europe and UK,so I'm early schedule.
I get out there, I get into it,I go fishing.
(12:08):
Right now it's spring Greattime to go out and get some
tight lines on some trout andjust be outside, get that
sunshine.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
That's excellent no-transcript.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
You know, bringing innovation.
Right now I'm head ofoperational AI at Wunderkind,
which Wunderkind is a greatAI-driven team product that does
amazing things with AI.
But inside, operationally howwe operate from business to
finance, to HR, to legal, toeverything, you know there's
still a learning curve.
Ai is still fairly new in anoperational and enterprise
(12:44):
environment.
So I'm really, really excitedat the innovation we're bringing
, the efficiencies that we'rebringing into an organization.
It's what I've been doing, youknow, at past places like
Cheetah Digital and thenMarigold, et cetera, and I'm
really excited to do it herewith the advent of AI and the
scalability of AI inside of theWunderkin org.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Okay, if you could bring one great change to the
workforce, what would that beand why?
Speaker 2 (13:11):
I think it would be accelerating what AI can do the
education to your entireorganization.
Everyone from you know we havegreat staff in our World Trade
Center office and they bring inthe lunches and they keep the
office going and it's awesome.
Ai can help them right.
And they aren't always thinkingabout that because they do
physical things and orderingfood and setting up tables and
(13:31):
chairs.
But the education opportunityfor any organization I don't
care what industry you're in, Idon't care where you are in the
globe AI can come in and makeyour people more efficient and
not more efficient just fromlike a numbers and revenue
perspective, but more efficientas human beings.
I've actually I've seen thelight bulb turn on and some of
my younger employees here atWunderkind when they start to
(13:54):
see what's possible with AI.
And I've had somebody you knowrecently come to me when I was
in the World Trade Centerrecently and they said, tim, I
applied what I learned here youwere showing me for for work
with AI to my own personalfinances and you know I'm more
educated now and I have somebetter outcomes.
So I think AI is going toabsolutely change the game.
I think it's going to take fiveto 10 years for full adoption,
(14:15):
but much like cell phones, youknow, our kids, younger
generations it's in their handfrom day one.
I think AI is going to be agame changer, so I love the
opportunity to educate people onwhat it can do and then also
learn learn to myself as well.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Excellent.
You know you were very activewithin the Loaty360 community.
You know what are a couple ofthings you like about the
community and maybe what wouldyou like to see more of.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Yeah, look, it's great.
I've been a huge proponent here.
I've been at multiple companieswhere I've mandated hey, we
have to be a vendor in theprogram.
We have to be a vendor in theprogram, we have to be a partner
in some way.
I think the people that areinside the organization your
brand clients, your brandassociates they're always
leaning forward, they alwayswant to know more and it goes
back to that education, thatthirst for knowledge.
So I think Loyalty360 has builta great organization where
(15:01):
people can come in, they canfeel safe, they can ask stupid
questions, but at the end of theday, there are no dumb
questions, right, we just wantto learn, we just want to help
each other, we want to increaseour value.
And then also, I've seenrelationships being built there
where people move fromorganization to organization.
But this kind of becomes one ofour common anchor communities
that we can keep coming back to.
(15:22):
As I mentioned, I think I'm onmy fourth company that's been
involved with Loyalty360, but Istill see some of the same
brands and or people that I'vebeen working with and met here
over the years.
They might be at differentbrands now but they're still in
it because they see the valueand they see the community
aspect.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Absolutely Last question.
We like to end these with somewords of wisdom for marketers,
customer loyalty professionals,who may be new to developing
effective customer loyaltystrategies best be new to
developing effective customerloyalty strategies, best
marketing practices andelevating customer experience.
What's a piece of advice thatyou can offer them that could be
very helpful?
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Yeah, look at mentorship and even if it's not
a formal mentorship, with one ortwo people that you can
identify, that have the time tohelp you.
But, just like I said aboutLoyalty360, get into those
organizations, lean in, make thetime.
I know we're all busy, you knowactivating our jobs at work and
we've got our to-dos, but lookat the opportunity you have for
education and even if you thinkyou have a great idea or if you
(16:21):
have a challenge that you're notsure how to tackle, somebody
has already done this.
I mean, no one's reinventingthe wheel for the most part.
So lean in, go find somebody,go ask a question.
Ask Mark, you know, ask theloyalty 360 org.
Hey, we're thinking about X, Yand Z.
Do you know anybody that'salready gone through these
hurdles and these hoops, madesome missteps and hopefully we
(16:41):
don't step in those potholes.
I would say just find time tofind resources.
There are people out there.
I'm one of them.
I'd love to talk to people andexplain my experience if we can
help them in any given way.
Find somebody that's going tohelp you navigate new territory
for you, because it'll be mucheasier to get advice and
experience from someone elsewho's already done what you're
(17:04):
trying to achieve.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Well, excellent, tim.
Thank you very much for takingthe time to speak with us today
on the Executive Spotlightepisode.
It was great speaking with you,as it always is.
I think you obviously alwayshave the passion that you exude,
but kind of a non-traditionalpath to success is great to hear
, and you always seem to thecompanies you worked for in the
(17:27):
past have a very unique passionand interest to grow and expand
your horizon.
So it's great and I think thatlisteners can definitely learn
from that.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Great Mark.
I always appreciate theopportunity.
It's always been good talkingto you about any of these things
, so again, just appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
Absolutely.
Thank you everyone for takingthe time to join us today on our
Executive Spotlight.
Please make sure to join usevery Saturday for a new edition
of the podcast and look forwardto having you back every week.
Until then, have a wonderfulday.
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