When your audience thinks they already know your story, the boldest brands flip the script and earn their attention in the process.
That’s exactly what happens in Wicked, the smash-hit film adaptation that reimagines one of pop culture’s most iconic villains. In this episode, we explore the marketing lessons behind it with special guest Allison MacLeod, Chief Marketing Officer & GM of US Education at Flywire.
Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from reframing brand narratives, building fan-level community, and executing with bold, high-stakes detail that actually gets noticed.
About our guest, Allison Macleod
Allison Macleod currently serves as Chief Marketing Officer & Head of US Education at Flywire (Nasdaq: FLYW), a global payments enablement & software company. At Flywire, Allison leads global marketing and revenue operations, & US Education sales, relationship management & pre-sales. She played a key role in guiding Flywire to a successful IPO in May 2021.
Allison brings nearly 20 years of experience with a background spanning marketing and revenue-focused roles. Prior to Flywire, she spent seven years at Rapid7 (Nasdaq: RPD), where she played a pivotal role in building and scaling demand generation, business development, and analytics. Before that, she held various digital and field-based positions at Forrester, including launching the marketing function in EMEA.
Outside of work, Allison sits on the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council and serves as a strategic advisor to early-stage companies through F-Prime & Underscore VC.
What B2B Companies Can Learn From Wicked:
Quote
“I think that's sort of the lesson and the beauty in this, taking something that everyone already thought they knew, and they thought they knew the story… and completely reframing it. And I think that’s where you just think of us as businesses, us as consumers… there’s so much clutter. So the brands that stick out and do things differently, and even if it is trying the same channel but in a different way, there’s so much power in that."
Time Stamps
[0:55] Meet Allison MacLeod, Chief Marketing Officer & GM of US Education at Flywire
[01:05] Why Wicked?
[02:29] The Role of CMO at Flywire
[04:00] Breaking Down of Wicked
[09:22] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Wicked
[21:54] The Appeal of Villains and Taking Risks
[23:37] The Power of Visual Design in Branding
[24:54] Marketing Strategies for Global Brands
[29:26] Flywire's Unique Differentiation Approach
[40:03] Final Thoughts and Takeaways
Links
Connect with Allison on LinkedIn
About Remarkable!
Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com.
In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK.
Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.
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