Episode 82: Supplier CMO Series: RJ Hagel, Goldstar
RJ Hagel was the very first marketing manager hired at Goldstar just five years ago and now leads an entire team of marketing professionals who are making writing instruments an exciting product in a crowded and noisy category.
In this episode, Mark Graham, commonsku's co-founder and Chief Platform Officer, sits down with RJ to discuss the obstacles and opportunities in marketing pens, as well as growing beyond their staple products, RJ shares:
- An overview of his marketing team and the roles each person plays
- The role of their parent company, Cimpress and how they maximize this large relationshipSu
- The differences between providing marketing resources for a consumer versus a distributor model
- Expanding categories beyond writing instruments (into bags and drinkware) without sacrificing expertise
- The decision to eliminate set-up fees and how that impacted their business
- What their most effective marketing channel is
- How social media and email have done well for them, with email open rates exceeding 50%
- What they haven't found success in
- Balancing proven marketing tactics with trying new channels
- The impact of investing in the commonsku platform