Coworking with Erica Gunn

Each Tuesday, we spotlight Marketing Brew’s readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself here.

Erica Gunn is CMO at Canto, a company that specializes in digital asset management solutions. Prior to joining Canto, she was head of marketing at Adobe Workfront.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in marketing? I usually ask, “Would you buy a car from a company you have never heard of?” The answer is always no…The same is true for buying software! My job is to make sure everyone who might be interested in our products has heard of our company, has a favorable impression of our company and products, and has the information they need to be interested in making a purchase with us.

That means crafting a brand identity and storytelling, getting that message in front of the right audiences, and connecting with the individuals that our products and services can help. It’s part creative, part strategy, and mostly about connecting with people to help solve their business problems.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? Currently, my favorite ad campaign is the Progressive commercials about first-time home-buyers becoming their parents. The campaign is funny, and just about everyone can find an element that rings true for them. Bringing humor together with the human element is a great way to create an emotional connection between your audience and your brand. And since the stories vary from commercial to commercial; they capture your attention. I love them all!

What marketing trend are you least excited about? I’m least excited about the “personalized” B2B emails I get, often with a photo or animated GIF of a salesperson holding a photo of me, clipped from my LinkedIn profile. While I agree that there’s data that shows personalized emails are more effective than generic ones, I do think there’s such a thing as crossing a line. Knowing that someone went to an online profile, copied an image of me, or pulled my title from a job description does not make me more interested in your product, and I find the practice to be a little gimmicky and creepy. I’ll be glad when we move on from this trend!

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile? I’m a bit of a pioneer woman. I bake all my own bread (including biscuits, bagels, and all the sandwich bread we use as a family), make jam in the summer, slow-cook most of our meals, and I spend my free time knitting and quilting.