Ok! Welcome back to my 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 #23 and today’s guest is Kara Goldin. She is the Founder and CEO of Hint Inc. 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 #23: Kara Goldin – Founder and CEO of Hint Inc.
Kara Goldin, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hint Inc., adds her page to the Marketing Playbook. Hear how to set ambitious and reasonable goals, gain a solid understanding of your finances, how not to fear failure, Kara’s time at AOL, and the biggest lessons from her entrepreneurial journey. This episode covers everything from marketing in the tech world to product extensions. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:
- Why did Kara want to go into journalism
- Was her experience at AOL before or after the TIME merger
- How did she start Hint Inc.
- Why flavored water
- How many flavors of Hint are there
- How important are product extensions for your business
- How do you get FDA-approved
- Why did Kara write Undaunted
Connect with Kara on social media at @KaraGoldin and buy her book at UndauntedTheBook.com and on Amazon.
Let’s open the playbook. Ready? Break! Check out the episode, show notes, and pictures below for much more detail.
Show Notes
- Intro
- [0:22] The Marketing Playbook with Mark Friedman
- [0:24] Details Interactive
- [0:30] Connect with Mark at Mark@DetailsInteractive.com, on Twitter at @DetailsInteract, and on LinkedIn
- [0:40] Connect with Kara on social media at @KaraGoldin and buy her book at UndauntedTheBook.com and on Amazon
- [0:43] Thank you as always to Max Branstetter of MaxPodcasting and the Wild Business Growth Podcast for producing this podcast. You can reach him at Max@MaxPodcasting.com to bring your podcast to life
- Kara’s Page of The Marketing Playbook with Mark Friedman
- [1:08] Hint Inc., Hint Water
- [1:15] Undaunted by Kara Goldin, Unstoppable with Kara Goldin
- [1:40] Entrepreneur
- [1:52] What is Kara’s first story
- [2:21] Scottsdale, AZ
- [3:02] Armour and Company, Conagra, Healthy Choice
- [3:31] Art History Major, Fashion
- [4:46] Teamwork
- [5:00] Arizona State University Journalism, TIME, CNN
- [5:18] Why did Kara want to go into journalism
- [5:36] Finance, Business Plan
- [5:55] Communications
- [6:25] UC-Berkeley Engineering, Marketing
- [6:50] Facebook, Google
- [7:23] The Wall Street Journal, Fortune
- [7:49] Marshall Loeb
- [8:22] eCommerce, Circulation, Subscription, Lifetime Value
- [8:49] Catalog Marketing, Digital Marketing
- [9:11] Accounting, P&L Statement (Profit and Loss)
- [9:21] Mentoring, Speaking
- [10:12] Was Kara’s experience at AOL before or after the TIME merger
- [10:38] 2Market, Apple, Steve Jobs
- [11:01] Investor
- [11:13] Channel Strategy
- [11:50] Omaha Steaks
- [12:06] CD
- [12:50] Netscape, Intellectual Property (IP)
- [13:29] How did Kara start Hint Inc.
- [16:22] Whole Foods
- [17:11] vitaminwater, Coke (Coca-Cola)
- [17:33] Trademark
- [17:38] Food and Beverage Industry, Tech Industry (Technology)
- [18:04] SKUs (Stock-Keeping Units)
- [18:45] How did Kara start producing flavored water
- [20:56] Retailer, Bottler
- [22:57] Company Culture
- [24:00] Beverage Industry
- [24:08] M.B.A. (Masters of Business Administration)
- [24:24] How many flavors of Hint are there
- [24:32] Smashups
- [24:50] Hint Blueberry Lemon
- [26:07] 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
- [26:53] How important are product extensions for your business
- [27:03] Hint Kids Boxes
- [27:18] Market
- [27:38] Capri Sun
- [28:22] How did Hint sunscreen come about
- [28:36] How do you get FDA-approved (Food and Drug Administration)
- [31:56] Hint Deodorant
- [32:07] Alzheimer’s Disease
- [33:43] Amazon
- [33:52] Product Categories, Health, Strategy
- [34:08] Halo Effect
- [34:50] Hint Hand Sanitizer, COVID-19
- [35:22] Why did Kara write Undaunted
- [35:48] Q&A Sessions
- [37:12] Starbucks
- [37:24] Entrepreneurism
- [37:52] Guy Kawasaki
- [39:03] Direct-to-Consumer (DTC)
- [40:27] White Space
- [40:48] How did Kara feel writing her book
- [41:50] TV
- [41:55] Publishers
- [42:11] YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization), Forum
- Outro
- [43:01] Connect with Kara on social media at @KaraGoldin and buy her book at UndauntedTheBook.com and on Amazon
- [44:03] This week’s 3 Game-Winning Plays are as follows:
- Set ambitious and reasonable goals
- Gain a solid understanding of your finances
- Don’t fear failure
- [44:48] 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
- [44:58] 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 Kara Goldin. 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.