Ok! Welcome back to my new podcast: The Marketing Playbook with Mark Friedman! Presented by Details Interactive. Here, you’ll take away 3 game-winning marketing plays every episode to take back to your team. I’m your host, Mark Friedman, and my career has been focused on direct-to-consumer marketing; direct mail, physical retail, and digital commerce.
This is Episode #10 and today’s guest is Doug Zarkin. He’s the Chief Marketing Officer of Pearle Vision. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and your other favorite podcast spots – subscribe and leave a 5-star review if you have your playbook!
What is The Marketing Playbook with Mark Friedman?
Mark Friedman (that’s me) knows direct-to-consumer marketing. The 30+ year industry veteran has served as the President of eCommerce at Steve Madden, Chief Marketing Officer of Brooks Brothers, mentor to dozens of startups, and even youth sports coach. You’ll take away 3 fundamental tips every episode to help your team knock it out of the park, and draw up strategies for digital marketing, eCommerce, customer monetization, and pivoting with the brightest all-stars in business. Do you have your playbook?
Podcast Episode #10: Doug Zarkin – CMO of Pearle Vision
Doug Zarkin, the Chief Marketing Officer of Pearle Vision, adds his page to the Marketing Playbook. Hear how to use effective listening to be an effective leader, how to make decisions based on data and other factors, how to leverage what you’ve learned for the next step of your career, how graduate business school compares to undergrad, and the differences in working for an agency vs. client side. This episode covers everything from education advice to Harry Potter. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:
- How COVID-19 is impacting retailers
- Should you go to grad school
- What Doug learned from the agency world
- How to change your company culture
- What you can learn from consumer insights
- What are the challenges marketing as a wholesaler
- How has the role of the CMO changed
- What superpower Doug wishes he had
Connect with Doug on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @DougZarkin.
Let’s open the playbook. Ready? Break! Check out the episode, show notes, and pictures below for much more detail.
Show Notes
- Intro
- [0:25] The Marketing Playbook with Mark Friedman
- [0:27] Details Interactive
- [0:36] Connect with Mark at Mark@DetailsInteractive.com, on Twitter at @DetailsInteract, and on LinkedIn
- [0:47] Connect with Doug on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @DougZarkin
- [0:52] Thank you as always to Max Branstetter of the Wild Business Growth Podcast at Hippo Direct for producing this podcast. You can reach him at max@hippodirect.com to bring your podcast to life
- Doug’s Page of The Marketing Playbook with Mark Friedman
- [1:52] How COVID-19 is impacting retailers
- [3:45] Ray-Ban
- [4:05] Doug’s background
- [4:26] Westchester County, New York Yankees, New York Giants
- [4:42] GW (The George Washington University)
- [5:30] Should you go to grad school
- [5:48] American University
- [6:01] Jerry Seinfeld
- [6:29] MBA (Masters of Business Administration)
- [7:00] What Doug learned from the agency world
- [8:01] Grey, AVON
- [8:27] Media Planner
- [8:32] What Doug’s role at the agency was
- [8:38] Saatchi & Saatchi, General Mills
- [9:12] Grey 18 and Under
- [9:42] Harry Potter, Warner Bros.
- [10:31] Mobil
- [11:29] What was Doug’s role at AVON
- [11:50] Andrea Jung
- [12:26] Ford
- [12:33] eCommerce
- [12:43] Incrementality
- [13:36] How to change your company culture
- [13:53] AVON Lady
- [15:10] Victoria’s Secret, PINK
- [16:30] What you can learn from consumer insights
- [18:14] What caused struggles at VS (Victoria’s Secret)
- [19:22] Limited Brands (L Brands)
- [19:53] Innovation
- [20:00] At Details Interactive, you can discuss your business with a seasoned direct-to-consumer marketing executive who’s helped launch and grow web businesses and integrate multi-channel marketing initiatives. Learn more at DetailsInteractive.com
- [20:35] What are the challenges marketing as a wholesaler
- [22:28] How has the role of the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) changed
- [24:15] What is Doug’s role at Pearle Vision
- [24:55] Dr. Stanley Pearle founder
- [25:06] Differences in corporate and non-corporate locations
- [25:42] What happens at a Pearle Vision Eye Care Center
- [26:34] Vision acuity
- [26:44] What do customers say about PV (Pearle Vision)
- [27:09] Reputation.com
- [28:24] How to ensure you care for customers
- [29:02] Luxottica
- [29:31] U.S. Rt 22
- [30:05] How Doug approaches Pearle Vision’s website
- [32:01] What is an example of failure
- [32:24] Ambassador programs
- [32:47] Masterbrand, Brand Halo
- [34:15] 5 mile battle and 9 year war
- [35:46] Pearle Vison vs. local doctor
- [35:57] Word of Mouth marketing
- [37:01] How does Doug view attribution
- [37:17] NPS (Net Promoter Score), Women’s Choice Awards
- 2-Minute Drill
- [38:46] Adidas
- [38:51] TeamSnap
- [40:02] Something Doug wishes he was better at
- [40:12] Helpusadopt.org
- [40:21] What superpower Doug wishes he had
- [40:28] Frequent flyer
- [40:37] His most prized possession other than family
- This Week’s 3 Game-Winning Plays
- [40:51] Connect with Doug on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @DougZarkin
- [41:20] This week’s 3 Game-Winning Plays are as follows:
- Use effective listening to be an effective leader
- Make decisions based on data and other factors
- Leverage what you’ve learned for the next step of your career
- [42:02] If you want to check out more pages of The Marketing Playbook, make sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast spot and leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts
- [42:10] Connect with Mark at Mark@DetailsInteractive.com, on Twitter at @DetailsInteract, and on LinkedIn
- Theme Song: Jazzy Man Funk Rock – Auditone Music Library – provided by Jamendo
How can I work with Details Interactive?
That’s it! Today’s game ball goes to Doug Zarkin. Thank you, Playbook Marketers, for listening. If you want to check out more pages of The Marketing Playbook, make sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast spot and leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. You can also follow us on Twitter at @DetailsInteract and learn more at DetailsInteractive.com. Until next time, The devil is in the details.