Episode 70: Supplier CMO Series: David Clifton, alphabroder
Welcome to a new series designed to uncover the personalities of the industry's most prominent and successful supplier marketers and to explore the role that marketing plays in bringing promotional products to the market.
alphabroder is a $1B powerhouse, the largest industry supplier by revenue, who continues to grow and acquire companies at an astounding rate. With over 80,000 customers, alphabroder has a daunting challenge marketing a broad spectrum of products to a massive audience.
David Clifton is our first guest in this series on supplier marketing. David's experience spans to not only include a role as former Executive Director of Marketing with Dell Computers, but David also served as the CEO of promotional products distributor, Hotlink.
In this episode, Mark Graham, commonsku's co-founder and Chief Platform Officer, sits with David to discuss a variety of topics including:
- alphabroder's "First call, first click" philosophy
- A glimpse at what David spends his time on throughout the week
- The distinction between art and science in marketing (and the importance of both)
- The make-up and size of his supplier team
- Marketing advice to a supplier founder who wants to bring on a director of marketing, or, when you are a marketing department of one
- The learning experience of bringing on acquired companies and learning to market through new channels
- Building a culture of communication