Move and Be Moved: How Mazda CMO Brad Audet is Redefining the Future of Automotive Marketing

[00:00:00] At the end of the day, our value creation is about creating feelings with people. And the only way you can do that is by listening to people and then shaping the artifacts in your go-to-market strategy based on that listening.

[00:00:15] To thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape, brands must move at an ever-increasing pace. I'm Matt Britton, founder and CEO of Suzy. Join me and key industry leaders as we dive deep into the shifting consumer trends within their industry, why it matters now, and how you can keep your business.

[00:00:30] Welcome to the Speed of Culture.

[00:00:37] Up today on the Speed of Culture podcast, we are thrilled to welcome Brad Audet, the Chief Marketing Officer of Mazda North America. Brad joins us to dive deep into Mazda's groundbreaking new brand platform, Move and Be Moved, which is reshaping the company's identity and forging deeper emotional connections with consumers. Brad, so great to see you today. Thanks so much for joining.

[00:00:55] Brad Audet, MD, MD Thank you for having me on.

[00:00:57] Brad Audet, MD Absolutely. So I saw right before you joined as CMO at Mazda, you spent a lot of time working for their agency,

[00:01:03] which is called the garage team Mazda.

[00:01:06] And I know in the auto industry,

[00:01:07] it's quite common that agencies kind of create their own,

[00:01:10] I guess, pop-up agencies, if you will,

[00:01:12] to service a big brand like Mazda.

[00:01:14] And I know a lot of other automotive manufacturers

[00:01:16] have the same setup with their agencies.

[00:01:18] What do you think the benefit was

[00:01:20] working on the agency side,

[00:01:22] specifically focused on Mazda

[00:01:23] in terms of how it prepared you for the CMO role?

[00:01:26] Well, I did cross the chasm, I guess,

[00:01:29] from the agency world into the client world,

[00:01:31] into Mazda four years ago, right at the onset of the pandemic.

[00:01:35] And I think the agency experience was really important

[00:01:39] in setting the foundation.

[00:01:40] One of the things that I think you realize

[00:01:42] when you work at a manufacturing company

[00:01:44] or any large marketing company is

[00:01:46] they don't have the same level of creativity

[00:01:49] that creative agencies do.

[00:01:51] And so as a CMO in an operation like Mazda,

[00:01:55] you have the ability to create inspiration

[00:01:57] across all the various business areas.

[00:01:59] And I think that part of it is really important.

[00:02:02] I mean, I was running the agency there at Garage for seven years.

[00:02:06] Prior to that, I worked at a WPP team agency

[00:02:09] on another automotive account.

[00:02:11] So I had a really thorough understanding

[00:02:13] of the automotive marketplace

[00:02:15] and how to navigate to get the best

[00:02:18] out of the agency resources.

[00:02:20] So I think one of the things that we've really done

[00:02:23] is to try to reshape our capability

[00:02:26] towards a more modern marketing point of view,

[00:02:30] leveraging data and technology

[00:02:31] in a more sophisticated manner,

[00:02:33] which I think would have been a little bit more difficult

[00:02:35] if I had not had the experience beforehand.

[00:02:39] Yeah.

[00:02:39] And almost like the inverse question

[00:02:41] I've always wondered is,

[00:02:42] in the advertising industry,

[00:02:44] agencies put the CMO on a pedestal

[00:02:46] and everybody wants to have dinner

[00:02:47] or the CMO meet them in Cannes, et cetera.

[00:02:50] And now you're actually in that seat.

[00:02:52] I guess, what do you know now

[00:02:54] that maybe you wish you knew

[00:02:55] when you were in your agency days

[00:02:57] about the reality of a CMO

[00:02:59] and what's really important to them?

[00:03:00] Well, I mean, I think CMO's responsibility

[00:03:02] is value creation for the company.

[00:03:05] And I think sometimes when you're at the agency,

[00:03:08] you think, at least when I was at the agency

[00:03:10] working at Garage D Mazda,

[00:03:12] I spent all my time thinking about marketing for Mazda.

[00:03:17] Even though I'm responsible for marketing at Mazda,

[00:03:19] and I have customer experience in motorsports

[00:03:22] and a PR, huge prather of different responsibilities.

[00:03:25] But I actually spend a very small amount of time

[00:03:28] thinking about the agency.

[00:03:29] And it's not because I don't value the agency.

[00:03:32] It's because our business

[00:03:34] is growing increasingly complex.

[00:03:36] There's more demands on the CEO

[00:03:38] in terms of creating orchestration

[00:03:40] and integration throughout the enterprise,

[00:03:42] making sure that the voice of the customer

[00:03:44] is represented in everything that we do.

[00:03:47] So I think in that regard,

[00:03:49] had I known what the true challenges were

[00:03:53] of the CMO in any one of the other agency environments

[00:03:57] I worked in,

[00:03:58] I think I would have been able to serve them better.

[00:04:00] And so I think one of the things

[00:04:02] that I have been talking about

[00:04:04] with all of our partners in other forums

[00:04:07] that I've spoken at

[00:04:08] is talking about the importance

[00:04:09] of being empathetic and understanding

[00:04:11] the business dynamic

[00:04:13] that the CMO is going through

[00:04:15] because the agency only looks at it

[00:04:17] through the lens of what they're offering.

[00:04:20] Yeah.

[00:04:20] And I think just to dissect

[00:04:22] what you're saying a little bit,

[00:04:23] because I ran an agency for almost two decades

[00:04:26] and I'm guilty as well.

[00:04:27] You think about the lens

[00:04:28] of through what you sell through.

[00:04:30] But you and your CMO,

[00:04:32] you talk about delivering value

[00:04:33] and ultimately it's shareholder value

[00:04:34] and ultimately it's growth.

[00:04:36] And that comes in the form of business results.

[00:04:37] You're trying to move cars.

[00:04:38] If you don't move cars off the lot,

[00:04:40] then ultimately you're next on the line.

[00:04:43] And I think there's a lot of things

[00:04:44] that contribute to that.

[00:04:45] Obviously it's product,

[00:04:46] it's the positioning,

[00:04:47] it's advertising,

[00:04:48] it's how you work with operations, et cetera.

[00:04:50] And I think often agencies get disconnected

[00:04:52] from the business results

[00:04:53] and they stay focused on the marketing results.

[00:04:55] And they think very narrowly to your point

[00:04:57] about the channels in their capability areas

[00:05:00] versus saying to themselves,

[00:05:02] how am I creating value for my client's business

[00:05:05] versus making advertising or communication widgets?

[00:05:08] And so that transition,

[00:05:10] I think some companies are making that better than others,

[00:05:12] but I think there's still a long ways to go there.

[00:05:15] Absolutely.

[00:05:16] So let's shift gears to your current role

[00:05:17] as CMO of Mazda.

[00:05:20] Talk to us about the brand of Mazda

[00:05:21] and how it's kind of evolved over the years

[00:05:24] and who the ideal customer profile is for your brand.

[00:05:28] Well, I think Mazda had largely been known

[00:05:31] and still is largely known in the United States

[00:05:33] for Zoom Zoom,

[00:05:34] sporting,

[00:05:36] fun to drive,

[00:05:37] affordable.

[00:05:38] And you talk to anybody I ever meet

[00:05:40] and they always have a Mazda story of their youth

[00:05:43] and a very delightful,

[00:05:45] inspiring story of the role of Mazda in their lives.

[00:05:48] So Mazda has a very strong heritage

[00:05:50] and a lot of equity

[00:05:52] and fun

[00:05:53] and stylish,

[00:05:54] but it almost comes across as too youthful

[00:05:57] for where the marketplace is right now.

[00:05:59] And I think we see the opportunity to take the brand,

[00:06:03] take the business into a more premium space.

[00:06:05] And when I say premium,

[00:06:07] I don't mean luxury,

[00:06:08] but more premium,

[00:06:10] getting customers to pay more for the product

[00:06:12] because the brand provides them

[00:06:15] with a strong emotional engagement,

[00:06:18] strong emotional bond.

[00:06:20] So we have been,

[00:06:22] over the course of the last decade,

[00:06:23] transforming our brand

[00:06:25] under our kind of philosophy

[00:06:27] of brand value management,

[00:06:29] which has included

[00:06:30] how we redesign our customer experience

[00:06:33] in our dealerships.

[00:06:35] So we have 380 or so dealerships

[00:06:37] that have gone under

[00:06:39] what we call our retail evolution program,

[00:06:41] which is a dramatic transformation

[00:06:43] of the physical space,

[00:06:45] but also the customer experience design.

[00:06:48] Obviously,

[00:06:48] we've continued to introduce new products

[00:06:51] and increase the premiumness of our products.

[00:06:53] And now lastly,

[00:06:54] we're bringing our brand platform to life

[00:06:56] in a more meaningful way

[00:06:58] for all of our customers and stakeholders.

[00:07:00] So we're reaching out to people

[00:07:02] that live their lives with intention,

[00:07:04] that want to live a life well-lived,

[00:07:07] that still want an engaging driving experience,

[00:07:10] but maybe want a bit more refinement,

[00:07:13] still desire a certain degree of utility.

[00:07:16] Obviously, crossovers are a very big space

[00:07:19] in the United States,

[00:07:20] and that vehicle utility

[00:07:21] is something that customers are demanding.

[00:07:23] So we think we have a pretty good formula

[00:07:25] for success right now.

[00:07:26] That's great.

[00:07:27] And of course,

[00:07:28] to get consumers to think differently

[00:07:30] about your brand

[00:07:31] or think in an evolved way

[00:07:32] about what Mazda represents,

[00:07:34] you need to put out different messaging.

[00:07:36] And I know that you have a brand platform,

[00:07:38] Move and Be Moved,

[00:07:39] which is a kind of a critical new phase

[00:07:42] in how you overall build the brand.

[00:07:44] Talk to us about what that brand platform means

[00:07:46] and why you're excited about it.

[00:07:47] Well, so Move and Be Moved is really,

[00:07:50] I think, a summation of our purpose as a company

[00:07:53] to enrich lives

[00:07:54] and our promise of uplifting people

[00:07:56] and then our core values

[00:07:58] around being radically human,

[00:08:00] having a challenger spirit,

[00:08:02] and omutanashi,

[00:08:03] which is how we treat people with empathy.

[00:08:05] And I think it's expressed real nicely

[00:08:07] as Move and Be Moved.

[00:08:08] And while we've used Move and Be Moved

[00:08:10] a little bit as a tagline

[00:08:12] in certain instances,

[00:08:13] it's really more of a multi-stakeholder inspiration

[00:08:17] and a grounding of what we want to give people.

[00:08:21] And I think the brilliance behind Move and Be Moved

[00:08:23] is it speaks to the joy of motion

[00:08:26] and all of the core characteristics

[00:08:29] that we're already known for,

[00:08:30] but it adds on that idea of human potential

[00:08:33] and being moved

[00:08:35] and going to new places

[00:08:37] and becoming one's best self

[00:08:39] and Mazda being a champion of that.

[00:08:42] So I think what we're able to do

[00:08:44] in this environment

[00:08:45] with this platform

[00:08:46] is to continue to talk about

[00:08:48] the strengths of our product,

[00:08:49] but also open it up

[00:08:51] to how we appreciate our drivers,

[00:08:54] how we appreciate communities,

[00:08:56] how we appreciate society

[00:08:58] and the role and the value

[00:09:00] that we bring to everybody

[00:09:02] that interfaces with Mazda.

[00:09:04] Yeah.

[00:09:04] So obviously you need to mention

[00:09:06] the unique selling propositions

[00:09:08] of the product

[00:09:08] and how the product itself is evolving.

[00:09:10] But I think the second part

[00:09:11] that you just explained

[00:09:12] is really about content

[00:09:13] to make people not just know,

[00:09:15] but feel the brand.

[00:09:17] So when Mazda looks at content

[00:09:18] and I guess throughout your entire stint

[00:09:21] of working on the Mazda brand,

[00:09:23] what types of content

[00:09:24] do you think are most effective

[00:09:25] at conveying the brand purpose?

[00:09:27] Well, I think mostly

[00:09:29] it comes through most authentically

[00:09:31] in the social environments,

[00:09:32] I think where we're able

[00:09:33] to do audience specific,

[00:09:35] creative channel,

[00:09:37] specific platform,

[00:09:38] specific creative.

[00:09:39] I think that always works very well.

[00:09:42] I would say any of the work

[00:09:43] that we've done,

[00:09:44] the stuff that performs the best

[00:09:46] and what we always go back to

[00:09:48] is the stuff that is born

[00:09:49] out of a genuine customer insight.

[00:09:51] What problem are we solving

[00:09:53] for the customer

[00:09:53] versus what problem

[00:09:54] are we solving for ourselves?

[00:09:56] So that's always kind of been

[00:09:58] our rule of thumb

[00:09:59] as it relates to content development.

[00:10:01] Absolutely.

[00:10:01] So you mentioned earlier about dealers

[00:10:03] and obviously I think

[00:10:05] that's probably one thing

[00:10:06] that maybe outside partners

[00:10:07] don't really understand

[00:10:08] as much as the importance

[00:10:09] of your dealer network.

[00:10:10] They're the front line for your brand.

[00:10:12] They're how most consumers

[00:10:13] can really touch and feel your brand

[00:10:15] and usually they're interacting

[00:10:17] with dealers

[00:10:17] at a very critical phase of the funnel,

[00:10:19] at the bottom of the funnel.

[00:10:20] How much of your time is spent

[00:10:22] thinking about

[00:10:23] and working with your dealers

[00:10:24] to make sure that the promise

[00:10:26] of the brand carries through

[00:10:27] to the dealer experience?

[00:10:29] Well, I would say, look,

[00:10:30] our dealers are

[00:10:31] an incredibly valuable stakeholder

[00:10:33] in an environment

[00:10:34] where a lot of automotive manufacturers

[00:10:36] have turned a cheek

[00:10:38] to the dealers and said,

[00:10:39] we're going to create

[00:10:40] new distribution channels.

[00:10:42] We've actually embraced

[00:10:43] our dealers

[00:10:44] as a key strategic advantage.

[00:10:47] I mean, if you're going to be

[00:10:48] a radically human brand,

[00:10:49] if that's one of your values,

[00:10:51] then you need to harness

[00:10:53] the power of people.

[00:10:54] So we spend a fair amount of time

[00:10:56] consulting with our dealers,

[00:10:58] understanding,

[00:10:59] our dealers issues

[00:11:00] and trying to work with them

[00:11:02] in partnership

[00:11:03] to grow their business

[00:11:04] because when their business grows,

[00:11:06] our business grows.

[00:11:07] So they are very important.

[00:11:09] In Mazda's situation,

[00:11:10] unlike maybe some of the other OEMs,

[00:11:13] actually at the factory level

[00:11:15] or at the manufacturer level,

[00:11:17] we spend almost the same amount of money

[00:11:19] as our dealers spend.

[00:11:20] It's pretty evenly split.

[00:11:22] So we very much believe

[00:11:23] that we need to be aligned

[00:11:24] and we need to be coordinated

[00:11:26] and we need to work

[00:11:27] in the true spirit of partnership

[00:11:28] and managing the customer journey.

[00:11:30] And our dealers have been

[00:11:31] very receptive to that.

[00:11:33] So I've worked

[00:11:35] around a number of different

[00:11:36] automotive manufacturers

[00:11:37] over my career

[00:11:38] and I will say

[00:11:39] there's nothing

[00:11:40] like the relationship

[00:11:42] Mazda has with its dealers.

[00:11:43] It's a very genuine,

[00:11:46] trusting,

[00:11:46] and respectful partnership.

[00:11:48] And is there sort of a two-way dialogue

[00:11:50] that goes on

[00:11:50] where you're hearing

[00:11:51] what the dealers are hearing

[00:11:52] from the end consumer,

[00:11:54] which then impacts

[00:11:55] maybe the way

[00:11:56] that you tweak your messaging

[00:11:57] or think about your future strategy

[00:11:59] as a marketer?

[00:12:00] Yes, absolutely.

[00:12:00] We have a national dealer council

[00:12:02] and we listen to their input.

[00:12:04] They collect input

[00:12:05] from all their dealer colleagues.

[00:12:07] So we're very much believe

[00:12:09] as an organization,

[00:12:11] particularly a marketing organization,

[00:12:13] that if we want to enrich people's lives,

[00:12:15] if we want to be radically human,

[00:12:17] if we want to treat people with empathy,

[00:12:20] we have to be great listeners

[00:12:21] and respond to the needs of people

[00:12:25] and how they're feeling about things.

[00:12:27] Because at the end of the day,

[00:12:28] our value creation

[00:12:30] is about creating feelings with people.

[00:12:32] And the only way you can do that

[00:12:33] is by listening to people

[00:12:35] and then shaping the artifacts

[00:12:37] in your go-to-market strategy

[00:12:38] based on that listening.

[00:12:40] So we've really spent a lot of time

[00:12:42] just listening to all of our stakeholders,

[00:12:45] customers, employees, and dealers

[00:12:46] to really understand

[00:12:48] what motivates and moves them.

[00:12:49] And in terms of the product side

[00:12:51] of the equation, Brad,

[00:12:52] I mean, obviously electric vehicles

[00:12:54] are so important to your industry

[00:12:57] and the adoption curve

[00:12:58] is varied by both types of consumers

[00:13:01] and frankly, the brands in your industry.

[00:13:03] Some brands are way further ahead

[00:13:04] and others take a more measured approach.

[00:13:07] Where is Mazda along that continuum

[00:13:09] and what are your hopes for the brands

[00:13:11] in the EV space moving forward?

[00:13:12] Well, we've taken a more measured approach

[00:13:14] to how we're handling EV in particular.

[00:13:17] I think we have a very good

[00:13:19] multi-solution powertrain strategy

[00:13:21] and approach.

[00:13:22] We're actually putting more emphasis

[00:13:24] on different hybrid variants right now,

[00:13:27] which really seems to be

[00:13:28] where the market is moving.

[00:13:30] Clearly, we're working on electrification

[00:13:33] and that's going to be an important aspect

[00:13:35] of our business to the regulations

[00:13:36] that the governments and states are imposing.

[00:13:40] The challenge there is

[00:13:41] consumer demand's not there

[00:13:42] for a variety of reasons.

[00:13:44] It's still quite expensive.

[00:13:45] The infrastructure doesn't exist.

[00:13:47] So we'll do what we need to do

[00:13:48] to always follow and deliver

[00:13:50] on the needs of our customer.

[00:13:52] That's the most important thing

[00:13:53] for us right now.

[00:13:54] And that's what's guided us

[00:13:56] over the course of the last several years.

[00:13:58] And just to take it even a step further,

[00:14:00] how do you see the industry evolving

[00:14:01] in areas like autonomous vehicles?

[00:14:04] Because that's something that obviously

[00:14:05] so many people think it's so far away.

[00:14:07] And then there's some people

[00:14:08] who would never go in a driverless vehicle,

[00:14:10] but then you have Waymo in LA and San Francisco

[00:14:12] where people are jumping in all the time.

[00:14:14] So I'm just curious for your own personal opinion

[00:14:16] and Mazda's if they have a strategy

[00:14:18] and where that's headed.

[00:14:19] Well, I think the adoption curve

[00:14:21] of autonomous driving is still somewhat TBD.

[00:14:25] It's even like where we are with AI right now.

[00:14:28] Some people will say

[00:14:29] it's going to fundamentally change everything

[00:14:31] in two years.

[00:14:31] Some people say five years, 10 years.

[00:14:34] What I do know is that the amount

[00:14:36] of computing power required for AI

[00:14:39] and autonomous driving far exceeds

[00:14:41] the capacity that we have as a country right now.

[00:14:44] And you throw EV on top of it.

[00:14:46] And so you say, okay,

[00:14:48] can we effectively power EV?

[00:14:52] Can we effectively power autonomous?

[00:14:54] Can we effectively power AI?

[00:14:57] I mean, you hear about these self-contained nuclear

[00:15:00] power generation facilities being built

[00:15:03] by the likes of Google and Amazon and others.

[00:15:05] And I think I heard something the other day

[00:15:07] that a AI-based search inquiry takes 10x the power

[00:15:12] of a simple text line inquiry, right?

[00:15:15] On Google.

[00:15:16] It's 10 times the tower.

[00:15:17] Yeah.

[00:15:17] So I think that there's a lot of infrastructure

[00:15:19] related issues there that are going to have to be dealt with.

[00:15:23] I would just say in the most simple sense though,

[00:15:25] Mazda is a company that celebrates the joy of driving

[00:15:29] and wants to be the champion for the driver.

[00:15:32] And so we will likely always have a car with a steering wheel.

[00:15:36] I think that's probably the case for most manufacturers

[00:15:38] and totally makes sense.

[00:15:40] You mentioned AI.

[00:15:41] How do you as a marketer and as a CMO use AI on a daily basis?

[00:15:46] And what are some of the ways it impacts the way

[00:15:48] that you're going to market with some of your activations

[00:15:51] in the marketing and advertising realm?

[00:15:52] We use AI in just about every facet of the business right now,

[00:15:56] whether it's in advertising technology,

[00:15:58] marketing technology, how we do our media mix modeling,

[00:16:02] how we do our audience analysis,

[00:16:05] how we manage it through analytics,

[00:16:07] creative variations, power personalization.

[00:16:11] AI is essentially vetted in everything.

[00:16:13] And it's kind of funny

[00:16:14] because we have been using it for some time,

[00:16:16] but it's only been in the last couple of years

[00:16:18] that people have really started to talk about it

[00:16:19] more dramatically.

[00:16:20] And then simplified, right?

[00:16:22] ChatQBT kind of brought it to the masses.

[00:16:24] Yeah, I think so.

[00:16:25] And one of the things that we've done

[00:16:27] or in the process of doing too,

[00:16:29] I think where AI can be very beneficial

[00:16:31] is in using AI large language models

[00:16:35] to create brains, if you will,

[00:16:37] a brand brain, an audience brain

[00:16:39] that allows you to put a lot of data

[00:16:42] and information together

[00:16:44] and synthesize it really easily.

[00:16:46] So if you're looking for an answer,

[00:16:49] you're designing a brief,

[00:16:51] you're able to be a lot more efficient

[00:16:53] and I think a lot more pointed

[00:16:56] as a result of those tools being available.

[00:16:58] Yeah, I mean, if you think about

[00:17:00] just the driver's manual that you get with a car,

[00:17:02] I think that every automotive manufacturer

[00:17:04] just gives somebody a chatbot

[00:17:06] that basically has been trained with a manual

[00:17:08] because while you use a manual,

[00:17:10] you want to get information if you could talk to it.

[00:17:12] And the manual should just be built into the car, really.

[00:17:14] You should be able to ask the car how to fix something

[00:17:15] and it'll tell you it's powered by the manual.

[00:17:17] Yeah, I mean, there's going to be certain things

[00:17:19] where you have a legal obligation

[00:17:20] to disclose certain stuff.

[00:17:22] But if you think about a user experience standpoint,

[00:17:25] in-car, audio enabled, frequently asked questions,

[00:17:29] just Q&A, how do I do this?

[00:17:31] How do I turn this on?

[00:17:33] When should I change my oil?

[00:17:35] I mean, there are a lot of things that you can do.

[00:17:37] Or is there lightning net flanking?

[00:17:39] Yeah, exactly.

[00:17:40] But I think the role of the car can also expand

[00:17:43] beyond just providing information.

[00:17:46] I mean, if you think about the car as a wearable

[00:17:48] in the future state in a lot of ways,

[00:17:50] it could provide a lot more value to customers.

[00:17:52] And I think we're seeing some of those expressions

[00:17:55] in the industry.

[00:17:56] We'll be right back with The Speed of Culture

[00:17:57] after a few words from our sponsors.

[00:17:59] We were talking right before the pod show

[00:18:01] about Apple and how great a brand they are.

[00:18:04] And I'm personally fascinated with just the idea

[00:18:06] of a car as a docking station.

[00:18:08] And CarPlay is such a great technology.

[00:18:11] And do you see moving forward,

[00:18:15] just the car plugging into your personal devices

[00:18:17] and it just kind of brings up whatever it is

[00:18:19] that you're interested in,

[00:18:21] whether it's music, the destinations you go to?

[00:18:22] How do you see, I guess, someone's personal data

[00:18:25] and personal cloud of things they like connecting

[00:18:27] with the car?

[00:18:27] Is it just as simple as CarPlay?

[00:18:29] Or do you have thoughts on how that might evolve

[00:18:31] moving forward?

[00:18:32] Well, I'll give you my personal point of view about it,

[00:18:34] not the Mazda point of view,

[00:18:35] but I can't imagine where there's a convergence

[00:18:37] of these two different hardware platforms

[00:18:40] into a singular user experience.

[00:18:42] Right now, it's still largely disconnected,

[00:18:44] but I think we're only limited by our imagination

[00:18:47] in that space.

[00:18:48] And so the electric vehicle platform

[00:18:51] provides us with some unique opportunities

[00:18:53] that we don't have with the mechanical platforms.

[00:18:55] And so whether it's CarPlay

[00:18:57] or if it's some type of other bespoke interface,

[00:19:00] I think all of these things are quickly converging together

[00:19:04] where you'll create your own individual ecosystem.

[00:19:07] Maybe you're not part of somebody else's ecosystem.

[00:19:09] So I think that presents some opportunities

[00:19:12] as brand marketers of how you are controlling

[00:19:14] the customer experience in your role

[00:19:17] as providing a brand experience.

[00:19:19] What does that look like in the future state?

[00:19:22] Absolutely.

[00:19:23] So you had mentioned earlier about social media,

[00:19:25] and obviously it's a great platform,

[00:19:27] the platform to share content.

[00:19:28] And more and more consumers, obviously,

[00:19:32] getting more and more content

[00:19:33] and things that dictate their buying decisions

[00:19:35] through social media.

[00:19:37] Gen Z, which is 27 years old,

[00:19:40] over the next five to 10 years,

[00:19:41] they're gonna be a core decision maker

[00:19:43] and buyer for families and households.

[00:19:45] And Gen Z, of course,

[00:19:46] is the first generation to grow up with the iPhone.

[00:19:48] They never knew a world that didn't have the iPhone.

[00:19:50] So moving forward,

[00:19:51] obviously getting in to the, I guess,

[00:19:54] attention span of consumers

[00:19:55] who are staring at the phone all day

[00:19:57] is gonna require you working more and more with creators

[00:19:59] and people who dominate the attention span

[00:20:02] of people using phones.

[00:20:03] How do you look at creators

[00:20:05] as part of your overall strategy

[00:20:07] in building a brand

[00:20:07] and getting your messaging across?

[00:20:09] I think they're absolutely essential.

[00:20:11] I mean, I think creators are parts of communities

[00:20:13] and I think brands to be successful now

[00:20:16] have to be able to infiltrate those communities

[00:20:19] and provide value into those communities.

[00:20:21] So actually when we launched the video work

[00:20:24] for Move and Be Move,

[00:20:25] there are a number of influencers,

[00:20:28] not creators specifically,

[00:20:30] but influencers that actually play their real life roles

[00:20:32] in the television work.

[00:20:34] And we did that intentionally.

[00:20:36] We didn't celebrate them as influencers

[00:20:39] in their environment,

[00:20:40] but we brought them in as talent.

[00:20:42] And that was a different way of thinking about that.

[00:20:45] But what it did is it allowed us

[00:20:46] to kind of authentically tap into their communities.

[00:20:49] We've since gone back

[00:20:50] and have done more thoughtful kind of content

[00:20:53] against those various communities.

[00:20:55] But I think it's really critical.

[00:20:57] It's everybody right now with their phone

[00:20:59] is their own content creator.

[00:21:01] The question is,

[00:21:02] is what part of that journey

[00:21:04] do you want to participate on or with?

[00:21:07] I think that there's environments

[00:21:09] where it's easier for a brand to do that

[00:21:11] than some other environments,

[00:21:12] but it's one of those things

[00:21:14] that's ever changing and ever evolving.

[00:21:17] It goes back to me a little bit

[00:21:19] of the notion of listening.

[00:21:20] You got to pay really close attention

[00:21:22] to what those communities are saying

[00:21:23] and understand how you can help

[00:21:25] either fight along with them

[00:21:27] and that whatever cause

[00:21:29] that they're fighting for,

[00:21:30] right, or help them solve a problem.

[00:21:32] Absolutely.

[00:21:33] You mentioned this earlier,

[00:21:34] but I think a lot of marketing goes bad.

[00:21:37] Focus is on like a strategy or an approach

[00:21:39] where a brand just thinks about themselves

[00:21:41] and how they espouse their story onto consumers.

[00:21:45] And what you said earlier

[00:21:45] really stuck with me in terms of like,

[00:21:47] it's about what the consumer wants.

[00:21:48] And in the case of the creator,

[00:21:49] what the creator wants

[00:21:50] and how does your brand fit in to add value?

[00:21:52] Because once you do that,

[00:21:54] then you can capture attention

[00:21:55] and force your way onto them,

[00:21:57] force your attention onto them.

[00:21:58] Yeah, I think so.

[00:21:58] I think it's really important that,

[00:22:00] at least in our model,

[00:22:01] what we try to do is

[00:22:03] listen to what various communities are saying

[00:22:05] and then put artifacts into the environments

[00:22:08] that allow the consumers

[00:22:10] to create their own variation,

[00:22:13] their own personalized rendition of the brand.

[00:22:16] I don't think we're in an environment anymore,

[00:22:18] given all the fragmentation,

[00:22:21] all the different creator options out there

[00:22:23] where you can control the brand.

[00:22:24] What you can say is,

[00:22:25] I kind of want to generally exist in this space.

[00:22:28] And how do I get all of those people

[00:22:31] to help me get there?

[00:22:32] How do we take the journey together?

[00:22:35] Absolutely.

[00:22:36] So shifting gears,

[00:22:37] as we wrap up here on you and your career,

[00:22:39] just looking at your career journey,

[00:22:43] you've worked at so many of the most prominent

[00:22:45] and iconic Madison Avenue ad agencies

[00:22:47] from BBDO to McCann to JWT,

[00:22:50] kind of along your way

[00:22:51] to finally ending up on the brand set in the CMO role.

[00:22:54] And that is sort of like the classic,

[00:22:56] I guess, dream of most people entering advertising.

[00:22:59] They end up where you are becoming CMO

[00:23:01] for an iconic brand.

[00:23:02] What are some of the decisions

[00:23:04] that you think you made right along the way

[00:23:06] in the agency world,

[00:23:07] kind of moving your way up the chain,

[00:23:08] so to speak,

[00:23:09] to then have the gravitas

[00:23:10] and knowledge to be able to come into

[00:23:12] a CMO role on the brand side?

[00:23:14] Well, I think there's a couple of things.

[00:23:16] One is that you have to be respectful

[00:23:20] of the business.

[00:23:21] And what I mean about that is

[00:23:23] advertising agencies,

[00:23:24] marketing agencies exist

[00:23:26] to create value for clients' businesses.

[00:23:28] And if you have a stronger strategic orientation

[00:23:31] about what your contribution is

[00:23:34] into your client's value equation,

[00:23:36] then you're going to be much better

[00:23:38] and you're going to provide that client better service

[00:23:40] and you're going to get rewarded for better results.

[00:23:43] And I think that's been a point of view

[00:23:45] that I've tried to adopt is to say,

[00:23:48] hey, I'm not a communications person.

[00:23:50] I'm a business person.

[00:23:52] And I happen to be an expert in communications.

[00:23:55] So I think that's kind of one thing.

[00:23:57] I think the second piece of it is,

[00:23:59] is that we're in a business,

[00:24:01] both in the automotive side

[00:24:02] and on the marketing communication side,

[00:24:04] that is going through significant

[00:24:06] and continuous evolution

[00:24:08] over the course of the last 30 years.

[00:24:10] And it's going to accelerate

[00:24:11] even more so in the next 10 years.

[00:24:13] So I think you have to be a student

[00:24:15] and you can't give up learning.

[00:24:17] I'm fascinated.

[00:24:19] Every time I go to a concert,

[00:24:21] I read a new article

[00:24:22] about everything that's happening.

[00:24:24] And it's almost difficult

[00:24:25] to kind of re-ended it all,

[00:24:27] take it all in.

[00:24:28] But I think you have to be able

[00:24:30] to evolve your mindset

[00:24:32] and evolve your capability.

[00:24:35] And a lot of people,

[00:24:36] I think sometimes get very comfortable

[00:24:38] in a certain kind of role

[00:24:40] or doing a certain kind of thing.

[00:24:42] And that oftentimes limits them.

[00:24:45] So I think curiosity

[00:24:46] is a super important piece

[00:24:49] of being successful.

[00:24:50] I think the last thing is,

[00:24:52] is just recognizing

[00:24:53] the power of people.

[00:24:55] As you grow up in your career,

[00:24:57] you're often rewarded

[00:24:59] and promoted

[00:25:00] because of your individual contributions.

[00:25:02] And then at a point in time,

[00:25:03] you shift to being rewarded

[00:25:04] based on the contributions

[00:25:06] of your team

[00:25:07] and how you're starting

[00:25:08] to uplift people.

[00:25:10] And it was funny,

[00:25:12] the other day on College Game Day,

[00:25:13] Nick Saban was telling a little story

[00:25:16] about how he was

[00:25:17] not a very good coach

[00:25:18] when he was at Michigan State

[00:25:20] because he was too transactional.

[00:25:22] He was all about winning

[00:25:22] or losing.

[00:25:23] When he started focusing

[00:25:24] this tension on making

[00:25:26] each one of the young men

[00:25:27] that were playing for him

[00:25:28] the best players,

[00:25:30] the best people they could be,

[00:25:32] everything in his program

[00:25:33] started to change.

[00:25:34] And he's like one of the most

[00:25:35] winningest coaches

[00:25:36] of all time right now.

[00:25:37] So I think there's

[00:25:38] a really key lesson in there.

[00:25:39] It's not about necessarily

[00:25:41] focusing on the goal.

[00:25:42] It's about focusing on the journey

[00:25:44] to get to the goal.

[00:25:45] And what do you need

[00:25:46] to enable that

[00:25:47] with the people

[00:25:48] that are on your team?

[00:25:49] Yeah, I think it's awesome advice.

[00:25:51] And speaking of advice,

[00:25:52] so say you are just leaving college

[00:25:55] and entering the advertising world

[00:25:57] and you someday hope

[00:25:58] to be the CMO of a big brand.

[00:26:00] What advice do you have

[00:26:01] for younger people?

[00:26:02] And maybe you're seeing this

[00:26:03] in some of your more successful,

[00:26:04] impactful younger team members

[00:26:06] in terms of where

[00:26:07] they should focus,

[00:26:08] the areas they should be

[00:26:09] spending their time on

[00:26:10] to set themselves up

[00:26:11] for a successful career.

[00:26:12] Well, I think you have

[00:26:13] to be persistent.

[00:26:14] That's a really important piece

[00:26:16] because it's easy to give up

[00:26:19] or to become overwhelmed

[00:26:20] because it is a very dynamic business

[00:26:23] and there's a lot of change occurring.

[00:26:25] And I think if you can adopt

[00:26:27] a mindset that allows you

[00:26:28] to be intellectually

[00:26:30] and emotionally nimble

[00:26:33] and responsive to your environment,

[00:26:35] you're going to have

[00:26:35] a much greater opportunity.

[00:26:37] I think a lot of times

[00:26:38] people internalize too much

[00:26:41] or have maybe

[00:26:42] almost too much perfection

[00:26:44] and too much rigidness

[00:26:46] when they think about

[00:26:47] how they manage themselves

[00:26:50] and they look at things

[00:26:51] in a very linear kind of way.

[00:26:53] And there is no linear

[00:26:56] career trajectory.

[00:26:57] It's a series of tacks.

[00:26:59] If you're a sailor,

[00:27:00] you got to play

[00:27:01] to where the wind is.

[00:27:02] You got to move

[00:27:02] to where the wind is

[00:27:04] and you're going to have

[00:27:04] some setbacks along the way

[00:27:06] and that's okay.

[00:27:07] And I clearly think

[00:27:08] the younger generation

[00:27:09] of people right now

[00:27:10] probably have a slightly

[00:27:11] different mindset

[00:27:12] about company loyalty

[00:27:13] and things of that nature

[00:27:15] moving forward

[00:27:15] in their careers.

[00:27:17] So I think that's one thing.

[00:27:19] The other thing I think

[00:27:19] is really important

[00:27:20] is you got to spend time

[00:27:22] in yourself.

[00:27:24] And it's easy to want to give

[00:27:26] your entire self

[00:27:27] to your job

[00:27:28] and to your company,

[00:27:28] but you have to make time

[00:27:30] for personal enrichment

[00:27:31] and I think that's super important

[00:27:33] in the complex world

[00:27:34] that we're navigating right now.

[00:27:35] For sure.

[00:27:36] For it also,

[00:27:37] they say be yourself,

[00:27:38] everybody else is taken.

[00:27:39] And I think the older

[00:27:41] and more, I guess,

[00:27:42] confident I got as a person,

[00:27:43] I found that my emails at work

[00:27:45] didn't really sound

[00:27:46] that much different

[00:27:47] to my emails

[00:27:47] in my personal life.

[00:27:49] I felt like I no longer

[00:27:49] needed to be work mat

[00:27:50] and home mat.

[00:27:52] I was just mat.

[00:27:53] And that was enough.

[00:27:54] And I think some people

[00:27:55] feel like they need to fit

[00:27:56] into some type of mold

[00:27:58] earlier in their career

[00:27:59] to fit in and set themselves up.

[00:28:01] But the reality is

[00:28:02] if you're just authentic

[00:28:02] and true to yourself,

[00:28:03] that's the best form of you

[00:28:05] and ultimately

[00:28:05] that's going to come out anyway,

[00:28:06] so you may as well embrace it.

[00:28:08] Yeah, I agree with that for sure.

[00:28:10] So to wrap it up here, Brad,

[00:28:12] I mean, is there a mantra

[00:28:13] or saying that you can think of

[00:28:14] that kind of summarizes

[00:28:16] your career journey?

[00:28:17] You've shared so much knowledge,

[00:28:18] but I wouldn't say anything

[00:28:19] that comes to mind.

[00:28:19] I guess just for myself,

[00:28:21] it gets back to the persistence

[00:28:22] and never giving up.

[00:28:23] I mean, we all face

[00:28:25] a lot of headwinds

[00:28:26] and different challenges

[00:28:27] in our lives.

[00:28:27] And I never really aimed

[00:28:29] at being a CMO in my career.

[00:28:31] It kind of just happened.

[00:28:33] I'm really delighted

[00:28:34] that I've had the opportunity

[00:28:35] to work with so many amazing people

[00:28:37] and dealers here at Mazda.

[00:28:39] But I think persistence,

[00:28:40] because as you said,

[00:28:41] like you have to be your best self.

[00:28:43] And as long as you know

[00:28:43] that you're doing

[00:28:45] what's good for you,

[00:28:46] what's right for you,

[00:28:47] then I think that you'll always

[00:28:48] find an opportunity to succeed.

[00:28:50] Yeah, it's awesome.

[00:28:51] Well, I'm glad we persisted

[00:28:52] to get you on the podcast

[00:28:53] because it was an awesome guy

[00:28:55] and you definitely are going

[00:28:56] to offer a lot of value

[00:28:57] to our listeners.

[00:28:58] So thanks so much

[00:28:58] and continue to be a fan from afar

[00:29:00] and admire what you've been

[00:29:01] able to do at Mazda.

[00:29:02] Great. Thanks so much.

[00:29:03] Thanks so much, Brad.

[00:29:04] On behalf of Susie and Iwi Keen,

[00:29:06] thanks again to the great Brad Audette,

[00:29:08] the CMO of Mazda North America

[00:29:09] for joining us today.

[00:29:10] Be sure to subscribe

[00:29:10] and review the Speed of Culture podcast

[00:29:12] on your favorite podcast platform.

[00:29:13] Till next time, see you soon.

[00:29:14] Take care.

[00:29:19] The Speed of Culture

[00:29:20] is brought to you by Susie

[00:29:21] as part of the Adweek Podcast Network

[00:29:24] and Agass Creator Network.

[00:29:25] You can listen and subscribe

[00:29:27] to all Adweek's podcasts

[00:29:28] by visiting adweek.com slash podcasts.

[00:29:31] To find out more about Susie,

[00:29:33] head to susie.com

[00:29:34] and make sure to search

[00:29:35] for the Speed of Culture

[00:29:36] in Apple Podcasts, Spotify,

[00:29:38] or anywhere else podcasts are found.

[00:29:40] Click follow so you don't miss out

[00:29:42] on any future episodes.

[00:29:43] On behalf of the team here at Susie,

[00:29:45] thanks for listening.