Rodney Woodruff on The Marketing Playbook Podcast with Mark Friedman: VP, Engineering at WW

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 #25 and today’s guest is Rodney Woodruff. He is the VP, Engineering at WW. 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 #25: Rodney Woodruff – VP, Engineering at WW

Rodney Woodruff, the VP, Engineering at WW, adds his page to the Marketing Playbook. Hear how to embrace mistakes, decide whether to build or buy tech solutions, find answers to any problem, practice empathy with your team, and what Rodney learned from growing up with 15 siblings. This episode covers everything from Rodney’s childhood to his top career tips. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

• How did Rodney’s childhood shape his professional life
• Why did he originally want to be a teacher
• What was his experience at Ziff Davis and GUCCI
• How does he translate technology to marketers
• How do you deal with someone with unrealistic expectations
• What is Rodney’s leadership style
• How do you deal with mistakes
• What is a superpower Rodney wishes he had

Connect with Rodney on LinkedIn.

Let’s open the playbook. Ready? Break! Check out the episode, show notes, and pictures below for much more detail.

Show Notes

• Intro
  • [0:20] The Marketing Playbook with Mark Friedman
  • [0:22] Details Interactive
  • [0:29] Connect with Mark at Mark@DetailsInteractive.com, on Twitter at @DetailsInteract, and on LinkedIn
  • [0:38] Connect with Rodney on LinkedIn
  • [0:40] 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
• Rodney’s Page of The Marketing Playbook with Mark Friedman
  • [1:06] Engineering, WW (Weight Watchers), Steve Madden
  • [1:28] When did Rodney and Mark consider starting their own podcast together
  • [1:50] How are Rodney and his family doing during the pandemic
  • [2:29] What is his first story
  • [4:06] Why does he like to talk
  • [4:54] How did his childhood shape his professional life
  • [5:25] Diversity & Inclusion
  • [5:48] Food Pantries
  • [7:01] How was Rodney’s experience at the University of Michigan and Lake Forest College
  • [7:35] Chemistry
  • [8:30] Masters of Education (M.Ed.), Public Policy
  • [9:15] Why did Rodney want to be a teacher
  • [9:54] Computer Programming
  • [10:30] Software
  • [10:41] Computer Technology
  • [10:47] Internet
  • [11:03] Digital Commerce
  • [11:08] What was Rodney’s role at Fry Incorporated
  • [11:28] Campbell Ewald (C-E), Interpublic Group (IPG)
  • [11:45] Agencies
  • [12:08] eCommerce, Startup
  • [12:20] 1-800-FLOWERS
  • [12:56] Oracle
  • [13:13] Software Engineer
  • [13:28] MICROS
  • [13:42] The Cloud
  • [13:58] What was Rodney’s experience at Ziff Davis and GUCCI
  • [14:12] Retailer
  • [14:37] Luxury Retailers
  • [15:14] Warehousing
  • [16:07] Order Management
  • [16:20] How does Rodney translate technology to marketers
  • [17:22] Reinsurance Firm, Recruiter
  • [17:56] Technologist, Coding
  • [19:37] How do you deal with someone with unrealistic expectations
  • [20:16] Amazon
  • [22:22] How do you decide whether to build or buy tech solutions
  • [22:52] ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), Workforce Management
  • [23:41] Plugins, HTML5, JavaScript
  • [24:20] 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
  • [24:50] What was Rodney’s experience switching to Steve Madden
  • [25:32] Feedback
  • [26:53] What is Rodney’s leadership style
  • [27:46] Management
  • [28:07] Product Manager, Project Manager
  • [28:26] Managing up
  • [29:12] Why is Rodney a frustrated marketer
  • [29:29] LEGO
  • [29:41] End User
  • [30:34] What advice does Rodney give to marketers focused on shiny objects
  • [31:14] Advertising Agency, Salespeople
  • [31:54] ROI (Return on Investment), Revenue
  • [32:31] What is Rodney’s role at WW (Weight Watchers)
  • [33:16] Wellness
  • [33:34] Where can people get involved with WW
  • [33:54] How was Rodney’s experience switching to WW
  • [34:09] CEO (Chief Executive Officer), Mindy Grossman
  • [35:31] QA (Quality Assurance)
  • [35:40] How do you deal with mistakes
  • [35:45] No Blame Culture
  • [36:52] Legacy System
• 2-Minute Drill
  • [38:01] COVID-19
  • [38:11] Commerce
  • [38:31] Angela Yu, The Complete iOS Development Bootcamp
  • [39:22] App Store, Archero
  • [39:39] Target
  • [39:51] What is something Rodney wishes he were better at
  • [40:22] What is a charitable organization he’s passionate about
  • [41:10] What is a superpower he wishes he had
  • [41:28] What is his most prized possession other than family
• Outro
  • [42:29] Connect with Rodney on LinkedIn
  • [42:34] This week’s 3 Game-Winning Plays are as follows:
    1. Embrace mistakes
    2. Decide whether to build or buy tech solutions
    3. Find the answers to any problem
  • [43:25] 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
  • [43:38] 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 Rodney Woodruff. 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.