Authentic Brand, Author at Authentic Brand

$Authentic Brand welcomes veteran marketing executive Kate Hendershott as a new fractional CMO$

Authentic Brand welcomes veteran marketing executive Kate Hendershott as a new fractional CMO

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Kate Hendershott has joined Authentic Brand as a new fractional CMO, contributing significant bench strength and capacity with decades of wide-ranging experience in the health and beauty, financial services, manufacturing, retail, and healthcare industries. (more…)

Authentic Brand recognized as “Best of Business” finalist

Authentic Brand is honored to share the news that we have been recognized as a top three finalist for Twin Cities Business 2021 "Best of Business" Readers' Choice Awards in the category of Advertising And Marketing Firm. (more…)

$Authentic Brand walks the walk, bringing in accomplished executive Kirk Geadelmann as fractional CFO$

Authentic Brand walks the walk, bringing in accomplished executive Kirk Geadelmann as fractional CFO

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Authentic Brand has quickly built a reputation for leveraging high-caliber expertise on a fractional basis to drive value for clients, and they’re embracing the same business model for their own company by bringing in accomplished business executive and financial expert Kirk Geadelmann as the company’s fractional CFO. (more…)

$Kristen Wilson brings firsthand entrepreneurial experience to clients as a new fractional CMO for Authentic Brand$

Kristen Wilson brings firsthand entrepreneurial experience to clients as a new fractional CMO for Authentic Brand

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - August 10, 2021 Authentic Brand welcomes Kristen Wilson as a new fractional CMO, lending 20+ years of experience in marketing and technology with diverse expertise spanning startups to large corporations. (more…)

They’re all in: Why Authentic Brand’s conversion to 100% W2 employees is a category-shattering revolution

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - August 3, 2021 Authentic Brand announced today that as of August 1, 100% of their team has voluntarily converted to W2 employee status – a shift that’s unique in the category of fractional executive services and reflects Authentic Brand’s strategic vision of thoughtful growth and development of an aligned, values-driven team that’s fully committed to the company, to each other, and to their clients. (more…)

A business guide to marketing leadership models

How does a fractional CMO compare to interim CMOs and strategic consultants? You know you need marketing leadership: someone to move your go-to-market strategy forward, guide your team, and integrate activities. While the requirements of the role might be straightforward, the solution is often anything but. How do you define the ideal fit for your organization in a world of increasingly diverse and flexible marketing leadership options? Finding the right answer for your business begins with a clear understanding of various marketing engagement models, leadership responsibilities, and commitment…

Demand Generation 101: Build a foundation for a strong program

Small and growing businesses are often laser-focused on demand generation. They want more “at-bats,” or opportunities, for their sales team. But demand generation isn’t as simple as putting your company’s message out into the marketplace. Demand generation is the process of creating brand awareness with relevant, targeted stakeholder groups (i.e., prospects) and then building on this awareness by nurturing prospects to create new revenue opportunities. (more…)

What should growing businesses include in their entrepreneurial marketing plan?

We start many blog posts with a similar story because it resonates with the many businesses struggling to drive alignment, accountability, and activation in marketing: A business has ambitious ideas for its growth, but leadership hasn’t agreed on or documented a clear vision with achievable goals that the entire company understands. Downstream, this lack of clarity and direction leads marketing to develop a plan based on wishful, hypothesis-driven thinking. (more…)

Hire a marketing leader: A guide for business leaders

The task to hire the right marketing leader has become increasingly difficult. Growing businesses need experienced marketing direction, and they can’t afford to get this hire wrong. A bad hire in the marketing leadership role is not only painful from a talent turn-over and expense perspective, but it runs the risk of damaging the company’s overall brand reputation, culture, and revenue potential. This reality begs some important questions, which we’ll address in this Guide to hiring a marketing leader: Why is it so hard to hire a marketing…

Random Acts of Marketing Guide

It’s a story we hear all of the time: A business grew rapidly in its first years by focusing on sales and pursuing whichever opportunities came its way. Eventually, though, growth leveled off. The company needed to do something to jumpstart its sales and fuel its next-level growth. Executives recognized it was time to invest in marketing. (more…)