How To Take Big Brand Swings (like NASCAR, Indy 500 and SXSW) with R. Ethan Braden, CMO of Texas A&M University

#399 | Dave sits down with R. Ethan Braden, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Texas A&M University, to talk about big brand swings he took with NASCAR, Fast Company and SXSW to insert the university into the national conversation and change the perception of a 150-year-old brand. Ethan explains why Texas A&M University's challenge is reputation and how he got the whole campus telling the same story. Ethan also covers why he holds marketing to the same rigor as finance and engineering, and why his strategy involved going where other universities aren't. Ethan covers how he turned 4,300 faculty into media experts with earned media PR. They also get into repeating one message, and why great marketers can work in any industry when they focus on the craft, not the category.

Timestamps (00:00) - Why a higher-ed CMO is on a B2B marketing podcast

(03:02) - The real challenge: brand perception

(08:18) - Building a brand that gets noticed

(11:46) - Why Ethan thinks you should pick a lane and repeat one message

(16:02) - Holding marketing to the same rigor as finance and engineering

(18:43) - NASCAR and IndyCar sponsorships

(25:48) - SXSW with Fast Company and brand partnerships

(31:39) - Building an earned media engine with 4,300 faculty experts

(34:43) - Marketing challenges: talent and trust in higher ed

(40:02) - Why great marketers can work in any industry

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