Scott Goodson (StrawberryFrog) & Sherry Graziano (Truist) | Teamwork Builds Great Partnerships

25:22It's in the interest of big corporations to improve people's quality of life. If you do that, they will buy more. If you reduce their quality of life, they will buy less. So it's actually in the interest to do what Truist does. Yeah, we sometimes get that wrong in our discussions on purpose. It is about that, right? It is about that. So Sherry, what's your reaction to what Scott just on about the story about Emirates and Truist and the chapter title, which I think is a good one. A little long, Scott, we can edit that down, but it's - It's a working title. It's a working title. So Sherry, your reaction?

25:57I completely agree. It's this conviction and purpose that really rallies the teams. When you think about the power of what's possible and having all of our teammates aligned to a purpose. And by the way, you know, I was just on the phone with a teammate earlier today. Like each and every one of our teammates have a personal purpose. And they shared that. We all share that. So, you know, my team knows mine. They'll hold me accountable to it. It's courageously listening to learn. It's living authentically. and it's paying it forward. And when you think about who we are as an organization, the culture we've created, and then how in which we make sure that our brand promise also brings that same deep purpose to life.

26:38Scott's team's been at the core of helping us really challenge ourselves to make sure that all of our creative aligns as well. And so I completely agree. The power of possible. I'm not sure the title of the chapter, but Scott, we're with you on the journey for the revision, if you will. And we're happy to be part of it with you. Sherry, could you stay on the topic of personal purpose? Yours sounds great and it sounds very real to you. How deliberate or intentional are you about that in the culture at Truist? You certainly have a corporate purpose that's very clear as it comes to life in lots of different ways just by checking you out online.

27:13But this fusion unity of personal purpose and company purpose, I don't think we talk about enough. Could you talk about how you think about that at Truist? Yeah, I'd be happy to. So a couple of things you heard me say, we all have a personal purpose. We all will share those, including when we make, you know, things like even org announcements, we share people's personal purpose. It helps our teammates build relationships with one another and truly understand who their partner is that they're working with. I had a quote on a banner and one of my old offices in Orlando, actually, that said relationships build trust and trust builds confidence and building relationships comes with a level of transparency and being vulnerable.

27:50And so I very much lead from my sort of authentic center. I am who I am. You heard me say what sort of shaped me along my journey. I'm the middle child. I have an older sister, a younger brother. And so in the spirit of personal purpose, you know, things like listening to learn, that's middle child syndrome at its finest. Really making sure that I'm not, you know, you're there to negotiate somewhat, but you might want to hear both sides of the story. How that shows up when you're having conversations with teams as well is very similar. you're actually showing up to have a conversation and assume good intent, but let's all collectively listen and hear maybe both opposing sides so we can understand what the middle ground might be to get, you know, land a really good decision, but not really listening to just respond.

28:34There's a difference between the intentionality of listening to learn versus listening to respond. You know, living authentically, I think that's really important when you think about, again, I chose to stay at Truest for the purpose. Again, when you think about the journey we've been on, it's what attracted me to the company. It's what's kept me here 14 years later. I'm around like-minded people and we all have the ability to live authentically in the moment. And each chapter of our journey affords us different opportunities depending on where we are personally, professionally to find that harmony.

29:03I call it harmony for a reason. I don't think there's a perfect balance, if you will, especially as the mom to two teenage boys, one about to go off to college. So they've taught me a lot as well about living in the moment, living authentically. And then again, you know, being vulnerable and letting your folks know along the journey as well in your teams, where you are, you know, how in which we all show up, it's meeting teammates where they are on the journey, and then finally paying it forward. I feel very passionately that a lot of folks have done that for me, paid it forward, paved the way, provided opportunities.

29:33I've been able to seize a lot of those opportunities and continue to grow and lead at impact in a scalable manner. And so I am very convicted in that. I spent a lot of time, Again, to your question on how, with intention of my time, to really make sure that I have an opportunity to coach and develop and help the next generation of leaders also achieve what their success and ambition may be.

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30:32Let's get into some detail about how you two work together. And this is all wonderful stuff we're sharing, but I want to go a little bit more tactical now. So talk about some of the practices you have, some of the rituals, some of the feedback loops, whatever that you do that operationalizes all the beautiful things we're talking about. So because if you don't operationalize it, it doesn't sustain and you can't scale it. So could you talk a bit about that? Get us a kind of open the door into how you two and your teams together. What is it about that that others could learn from? Yeah, I'm happy to start.

31:08And I would say, let's go back to the reference I made on relationships build trust and trust builds confidence. I think that's a really important part of this. And I give all the credit in the world to both of our teams who work together very closely, shoulder to shoulder each and every day. You know, but when you say, how does that show up? A great example of that are rigorous routines that the teams have in place, in particular, as you think about going from ideation to execution of new content and really being comfortable with effectively challenging one another. And, you know, a great example of that is the most recent cut and piece we have that we were working on where we really wanted to make sure that we showcased what felt like real world expertise of golfers.

31:50And Scott, I'm using this as an example because I think both of our teams went back and forth and back and forth and said, hey, we've got this really great storyboard. We love where we're at. We're on like, you know, iteration 15, whatever it may be along the way. but we feel like we need to bring in even more experts from a sport and a domain that can help us really make sure this resonates in a meaningful way. And being okay to have a good trusted relationship that you can effectively challenge one another to say the bar is almost a level of perfection, right? And making sure we're all going to rally to win as a team and pulling in a partner with the PGA that we had to come in and give us some more expertise on something maybe we could tweak in that creative and how that shows up as an outcome is important when all of a sudden you air a piece and you get feedback from a professional golfer that says, you nailed it, you nailed it.

32:43And so that to me is sort of the holding one another accountable, elevating our teams to the next level. But that comes with a level of trust and relationships that our teams have built as well. And how do you think you've built that, Sherry? I go back to the relationship piece. Look, this isn't easy. We all take on incredibly complex work. It comes with a lot of rigor, a very high bar as well in terms of performance outcomes. We're all under the pressure, right? And so it's not just come up with something new and exciting. It's come up with something new and exciting that drives on performance outcomes that's measurable in nature.

33:16Like at the end of the day, I grew up in the business, as you heard me say. Call me a financial geek, if you will. But when you grow up in the business as well, you understand the pressure that will be held against It's the ROI, what's your return going to be? And so our teams have really rallied and said, hey, we do want to continue to evolve our messaging collectively as a team. Let's think big. Let's be creative. Let's be innovative. But let's also build a level of trust and relationship that we can be open so that we can effectively challenge one another to really make sure that we're taking this to the next level.

33:48Scott, anything else you'd add? I would. Actually, I came up with a good title while we were talking. But it also is kind of my own personal purpose. I call it fearless wins. And basically, you know, humans, if you have a strong, rock solid base beneath you, you can go off and do great things. You can be fearless. But if you have an instability beneath you, if you don't have that strong foundation, you're fearful. And I think purpose is that foundation for truists. So I think in many respects, what you were just saying at the end there, Sherry, is a sense of fearlessness. And I think it comes from that purpose.

34:26I would add a couple other things. First of all, we developed something that Sherry's team led by Beth Ventura and our team led by Chip Walker. They developed a data-powered protocol to use very closely when we're developing new stories and new creative. So we have the bar of strategic excellence, creative excellence. But what we've realized is that with access to data now, we can actually have that as a third partner and use that in developing stories. And it's been incredibly effective because the stories we ended up choosing and produced, some of the stories weren't, if you would have read them at first, they were very good stories.

35:03But you would typically go to another one just because it was maybe around, I don't know, a sport that you thought everyone would love. But we ended up choosing one in particular was about a woman who was a drummer in a band. And that was chosen through the data protocol. And it turned out to be the best performing piece of work that we've done, save for this latest piece of work, which you'll see in the next few weeks. So I would say that's a really great tool that we use together and that guides us. The other is we have a purpose within our team. The values associated with that purpose, Sherry was talking a bit about, like trust, mutual forgiveness of mistakes, which are unavoidable on both sides, you know, honesty, whatever happens, the client and the agency need to tell each other the truth.

35:47I think that's a core principle of our team. Absence of fear. Yes, there's the need to deliver excellence, but no one can produce great work under the sort of Damocles. Acknowledgement of jobs well done. Sherry and her team are amazing. Actually, I would say diabolical at giving great acknowledgement. I would say the best clients are the ones that treat their partners incredibly well because then you want everybody in the company wants to work for that client. Clients that treat their partners poorly, nobody wants to work on it, even if you pay them a fortune. So I think acknowledgement of jobs well done goes a long way.

36:20Close involvement at the top, Truist and at Strawberry Frog. I mean, our relationship is a great example where we make sure that everyone has the big picture clear and we're able to talk about things so that, you know, both sides continue to have a strong relationship. And finally, like a sense of humor, which I think allows both sides to have as much fun in the process being committed to doing outstanding work. To me, those are really core values of our relationship that in effect are another aspect of the purpose that motivates and inspires us. I'd like you both to talk a bit about, Scott, you sent me a note this morning about the results from working together, the outcomes, which are pretty outstanding.

37:00But I'd like you to reflect a little bit on the last, I don't know, year or two. What are you especially proud of in terms of the output of your respective teams? Is it a piece of work? Is it a milestone you've reached? Is it a level of awareness you've achieved? What is it that you both would reflect on to say, wow, I mean, we're never satisfied, but that's a real milestone. Sherry, let's start with you. I would start by saying we're a five-year new brand. And to go from awareness of 56 % to 81 % is nothing short of remarkable. When you think about the brand equity that we lost, you know, and what we're competing with in the marketplace.

37:41That's a piece of the story that I'm really, really proud of. And we'll continue that momentum, but how we think about the return as well. And so in terms of, you know, it's not often when you say, Hey, I can run perhaps year over year, maybe you ran flat on your spend, but you were able to drive even stronger performance results, more new households coming to the bank. It's really exciting when you have a peer who walks into a room and says, I was having lunch yesterday and, you know, a millennial in town said the coolest bank is truest. And I kind of chuckled and I just looked at him and he said, you know what I said back?

38:19I said, well, I know the person responsible and their team's responsible for the brand. So they can't wait to hear that story. But that's a real example when you think about, you know, to Scott's earlier point, what we're doing in financial services and how we think about the future of finance and our brand and how we think about our brand promise coming to life and how that shows up. Like people do get excited. They do see us as a bank that has expertise, care, and it's someone that they do believe and trust and want to do business with. And so, you know, how that manifests with financial outcomes, which are very important, running a business, driving new households to the bank, growing the bank for the future, that is all just as important as driving out that brand awareness and consideration.

39:04It's actually building the bank of the future as well. Scott, what are you especially proud of in the last year or two? I mean, the results are fantastic. 80 % awareness and consideration that's equal to the peers that have been around for centuries to me is pretty remarkable. I think as someone who's worked in the industry a long time, and as you know, Jim, I mean, you are hiring us to do the Pampers work globally, I think it's very seldom that you find a way to tell a story that feels genuinely differentiated and unique and has power. You know, looking at the work, obviously we started and every time we work together, the work gets better, gets more entertaining, more engaging and so forth.

39:46But what I really love is this powerful paradox that we brought together that great brands aren't just simplistic. Great brands tend to have paradoxes. They can be this and they can be that because it appeals to a wide variety of people. To me, that's testament to excellence in marketing, where you can have a great idea that lets you tell stories to your existing clientele, to new prospects, to your employees, to your teammates, I should say, all levels of the organization, other stakeholders, the industry, and that's what we have. And that's a powerful tool for the growth and the momentum of Truist.

40:25And after five years of being in this industry, this organization is on a roll. There's a spirit, there's a momentum. You can feel it when you walk through the hallways. I mean, Sherry is a wonderfully engaging leader. When you meet others throughout the organization, there was a sense of this place is special. And I think the creative idea that we've developed and are delivering is something I'm most proud of. Now to go from whatever 50, 56 awareness to 80, what drove it? What was it that obviously you're probably going to say the work was, but when you step back, what's your learning on that?

41:03And it's 81. So I'm going to celebrate every win along the way. 80 plus. We should do that. Keep celebrating the wins. But I do think a big piece of it is the maniacal focus, right? And the belief. And I do want to go back and say, you know, you talk about, we started the conversation on purpose. There is a conviction in purpose and being a purpose-led organization and really focused on inspiring and building better lives and communities. And make no mistake, when Scott and I had that coffee sitting in his office in New York a couple years ago, the first interaction, some of that dialogue was, hey, how do we think about the evolution of the brand and how do we really take it to the next level and bring together the evolution of care, the messaging that's really resonating, which is appealing to all of our clients.

41:51So whether that be consumer audiences, our wealth clients, our small business clients, our wholesale clients, but really double down in thinking through the next chapter of the journey in our brand messaging and our brand promise and story. And what we heard from the research time Time and time again, we listened to thousands of clients. But what really resonated is banking can be highly emotional. And Scott nailed that earlier. Intimidating for that matter, when you think about the complexity. And so what clients ultimately rely on is our deep knowledge and expertise. And when you couple that with care, you have the power of what's possible.

42:30And so if I look at the last couple of years and the momentum that has really, I would just say wind in our sails and continues to just be fantastic for us. It's been this conviction around not only the brand purpose, delivering a level of care, but now sort of layering on this next chapter around advice and expertise. Our teammates see themselves in this each and every day, all the interactions they're having across all the different connected channels. And so you start to bring all of that together and all of those connected touch points are a manifestation of the brand. And so I look at that and say, we are unstoppable together.

43:08That is, you know, what we would come forward and say, that is the campaign and we're living it across all the different areas of our ecosystem. And so it's very exciting when you see it show up in the results as well. It's the conviction, it's the belief and being maniacally focused on driving. And one principle behind everything you just said was that you've had constancy of purpose on your purpose. You haven't jumped around. You decided what you wanted to stand for and you stuck with it. You brought it to life in different ways as things evolve. But the core of what the brand is, you've kept to it.

43:38And I think a big issue with so many brands is they don't do that. You have to realize creativity with consistency. That's what great brands do. That's the number one thing. That's it, right? Creativity with consistency. Another way of describing it is like, I think Sherry and the leadership have created a community of caring. And it's so clear when you are working every day with the marketing that that's really what they care about is that care matched with expertise. I think, you know, like the Reese's peanut butter cup, chocolate and peanut butter is perhaps a sort of a basic idea of bringing two contrasting ideas together that creates that interesting paradox or in a more elegant way, perhaps Land Rover, you know, as a Range Rover is a brand that's on the one hand rugged and you drive it in the mud and except it's driven by people that are wearing, you know, couture and driving to events and very refined dinner parties.

44:35When you can bring those two together, you build these amazing brands. And I think what we have here is this idea of care. You know, we did a lot of research before we started. We said, okay, what can we uncover in culture? What can we uncover with consumers. And we found that what people were really looking for was that level of care, which, you know, if you think about you go into a financial institution, tends to be faceless. You have to stand in line. You typically meet a machine. It's not the most caring environment. So people, obviously, the unmet need was care. I want to be treated like a person.

45:08Sherry mentioned intimidation. Let's remove intimidation. Let's help people feel more confident because if they feel more confident, then that helps everyone and so forth. Added to that is that expertise, right? You bring those two together and you create that feeling, you know, can you feel it? Do you feel that sense of, I mean, it gives me goosebumps when you talk about it, the sense of caring and expertise together. And that creates that explosion of unstoppable together. And that's that unique idea, which it's truly differentiated and is deeply connected to the purpose. So we love that idea.

45:42And, you know, the idea of creative idea that came out of that strategic platform. I call it Mr. Miyagi. Remember him? Karate kid, tough, but caring. And wax on, wax off, you know, really inspired this kid to become a great martial arts winner. That was the idea that we felt really could deliver that strategy in a powerful way. And that's what we've been doing in every piece of work. And I think, as Sherry said, it's a great story for people inside the organization because they feel like such pride to be Mr. Miyagi, to be the coach, to be that teacher. Everyone has had in their life a teacher who they point to and say, that person changed my trajectory or a coach that maybe was a little hard on you or maybe was challenging you, but helped you become a better version of yourself.

46:35That's such a classic American an icon, such a relevant character for Truist because it really represents all of which Truist represents. I think at the same time, the person receiving that is the customer. And that interaction makes them a better version of themselves. And in today's world where we see the world is changing, consumers are depending on themselves a lot more. They can't depend on organization in places where they've historically trusted. So they're leaning in more on their own abilities to live and thrive in this world. So it's the right message for a time when it's becoming much more about how do I help my world?

47:14How do I help myself, my family, my friends, my company? So it feels like a powerful idea and it's proven to be so with the research that we've done and the results we've achieved.

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48:29okay we're gonna end on the creative brief and you know this question is coming what's the first brand sherry you remember making an impact on you as a young girl i'm gonna go back and say it it's disney you know probably shaped by my dad again i had an opportunity to have a lot of exposure is born and raised in central florida and when you grow up close to what at the time by the way i just assume this is normal right as a kid and then you know over the years you really realize how much that shaped you. I still have a lot of friends that work today to this day at Disney. And I think about the experiences that they've curated and how personal they are and what we're striving to achieve around personalization at scale.

49:11And it's nothing short of remarkable. When I look back at, you know, what I was exposed to, the creativity, the innovation, and then just this conviction to experience, you know, I was telling Scott a few weeks ago as well, There's something about the people, the culture. Everyone was always happy at the moment. You don't realize that as a kid. As an adult, when you take your kids there, you do. When you see children that are melting down, they're tired and everyone is still very happy. And what can I get for you? And or celebrating your first visit to the park with a special pin and how important that makes you feel.

49:43I was shaped by that. And when you think about that as a brand that held the bar, I hold that brand in really, really high regards. have a lot of friends that are still there, maybe went through their college program, and they're still building magical experiences. And I believe we can build magical experiences across all different brands and all different industries. So Scott, first brand you remember making an impact on you. I don't think I've ever asked you that. For me, it was VW. One of my dad's friends had a VW when I was a little kid. And I remember my parents talking about how dangerous it was for me to get picked up in the morning because the engine was in the back and it was a small car, but all the kids, we used to love it piling in.

50:20There was probably five of us in the backseat, no seatbelts. And I remember the ads on television that just made you feel like this was a car for people that were independent thinkers. These were not for the ducks, you know, the ducks that follow every duck. This was for those who were contrarians, perhaps someone who believes in themselves and their own ideas. And that really appealed to me, I guess, in a sense, as a young person, I was put in school as a, I think, four instead of five. So all the kids were much bigger than me. And I had to prove myself on the schoolyard and the hockey rink. And I think I felt as a kid, as an outsider, because I wasn't physically as big as the other kids.

51:03And I've always just loved challenger brands. And VW was a challenger brand. It made you think. It made you challenge your assumptions. It made you think that things were different, that you didn't always have to follow what everybody else is doing. And that was incredibly empowering for me. I think it inspired me actually to start Strawberry Frog. And in my first book, my talk about how VW really made such a big impact on me personally and professionally, and even for the business that, you know, you don't have to be huge. How many people do you need to screw in the light bulb, right? It's a small group of people.

51:39And VW was that example. You know, they could take on these giant car manufacturers and win. So that one has left a lasting impression on me. Okay. Now, last question for you. Have you each learned anything about each other on the show? It is fun. I think what I'm learning is even just the depth of experiences that have influenced Scott and actually how that manifests and shows up in our interactions and engagement. So what you just shared on VW, like that's new, right? So again, going back to the brands and some of the influence, those would be the learnings. It also helps me, again, connect dots on decisions made, how we show up, maybe influence over the years.

52:20But above and beyond that, you know, look, I'm just honored to have the opportunity to partner each and every day with really strong, creative teams. Scott's got an amazing team and we're honored to be on the journey with him. Scott, did you learn anything about Sherry that you didn't know today? I really do appreciate the way she thinks about team. You know, behind beside me are enormous group of people. Tyler, who runs our creative and Chip does strategy and Carmen runs the business and Mark runs project management. There's a whole bunch of folks, creative teams that work on this. So I do appreciate that very much.

52:56To that point of acknowledgement of jobs well done, I think it's really important. I think what I'm taking away through listening to the show is Sherry represents the next generation of marketer. And what I mean by that is we know that the role of CMO is evolving. And what is fascinating is Sherry's role as, you know, she's EVP of digital client experience and marketing. To me, that is it. Of course, it has to be those things because there's no delineation line that says that ideas or experiences stop at the TV commercial, even in integrated marketing. Okay, that's integrated marketing, but how do the consumer actually experience the brand when they've walked through the door?

53:37How do they meet the people working in the organization? All those things, as well as what are the utilities that you're providing to make their lives easier through digital and so forth? So an AI, increasingly AI. So the fact that she has such a broad engagement in the organization to me is future forward. It's what every organization should aim for. It's the next role of the true marketer. This has been a great springtime conversation with you two about relationships and growth and business and purpose. So I thank you. Thank you very much. It started on a high note and just never went down. So thank you for this marvelous conversation.

54:16It's going to help a lot of people who are trying to build the kind of relationship you two and your teams have. Thank you, Jim. Thank you, Jim. Pleasure. That was my conversation with Sherry and Scott. Three lessons from this one to help you work better with your teams and partners. The first one is invest in building a true team. There's a lot of metaphors about sports in the show and about building great teams together. Sherry has a great team on her side. Scott has a great team on his side. They are complementary. They build on each other. They bring different skills to the table, but they clearly, as the leaders, invest in building a great team.

54:53Second, how to work together better? Use brand purpose as a galvanizer for the partnership. These two believe in the power of brand purpose. They see it the same way. They work together to elevate their standards, to make sure that everything they do is about amplifying and activating and celebrating the brand purpose of Truist. And third lesson, relationships build trust and trust builds confidence, which means you have to invest in the relationship. Sherry and Scott clearly know each other well. They know about each other's backgrounds, their history, their families. So when I asked them finally, did they learn anything about each other at the end of the show?

55:31They had to take a minute to think about that because they already have a strong relationship that builds trust, that builds confidence, that leads to great work. that's it for this episode of the CMO podcast if you found this helpful and entertaining I would be so grateful if you could share our show with your friends and I would be super happy if you subscribe so you can be updated as we publish new episodes and if you really want to help leave us a five-star rating and a positive review on apple podcasts or wherever you listen the CMO podcast is a vive original production episodes of the CMO podcast are produced by vive the views and opinions expressed by podcast speakers and guests are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of our sponsors or its personnel nor do our sponsors advocate or endorse any individuals or entities featured on the episodes