How Mailchimp Shows Up Authentically
Mark DiCristina is the Vice President of Brand Experience at Mailchimp, where he focuses on ensuring that the brand shows up for customers in authentic and truthful ways. We covered everything from their famous sponsorship of the Serial podcast to their innovative and, again, authentic user experience during our conversation this week on the On Brand podcast.\n\nAbout Mark DiCristina\nMark DiCristina is the Vice President of Brand Experience at Mailchimp. He and his team are responsible for ensuring that Mailchimp\u2019s brand shows up in thoughtful and authentic ways. During his time at Mailchimp, Mark spearheaded many of the brand\u2019s largest marketing initiatives such as the launch of Wink, Mailchimp\u2019s in-house agency, and has been fundamental in the creation of Mailchimp\u2019s creative ad campaigns; most recently Guess Less, Sell More.\nMark was responsible for the company\u2019s first major ad campaign, \u201cDid You Mean Mailchimp?\u201d which won the Cyber Grand Prix at the 2017 Cannes Lions Festival, and the legendary \u201cMailKimp\u201d ad on NPR\u2019s \u201cSerial\u201d podcast, which landed mentions on \u201cSaturday Night Live,\u201d \u201cThe Colbert Report\u201d and \u201cFunny or Die.\u201d Before joining Mailchimp, Mark worked as a production manager at Paste Magazine and was named one of AdAge\u2019s 40 Under 40 in 2017.\n\nEpisode Highlights\n\u201cMail \u2026 kimp?\u201d\xa0We all remember that infamous sponsorship message at the beginning of the original season of Serial, which was famously included in SNL\u2019s sendup of the podcast. That\u2019s why I had to ask Mark for a bit of an oral history of how this zeitgeist-making moment happened.\nOne of Mailchimp\u2019s biggest lessons from this moment? \u201cWe kept quiet and didn\u2019t insert ourselves into it. We just let it happen.\u201d While this advice sounds easy enough, more often than not most marketers look for ways to create more content and conversations around these special moments\u2014which can ruin them.\nWhere do you start with brand experience? Brand experience can be vast. \u201cYou have to start with empathy for the customer. Pushing that send button can be a big moment. Same with the moment after you hit send.\u201d That\u2019s why Mailchimp has some fun with these moments with the messages in their interface. \u201cWe want to show up as a brand in a way that makes people feel like someone\u2019s home.\u201d\nWhat brand has made Mark smile recently?\xa0Mark pointed to a big one\u2014Yvon Chouinard, who recently made headlines by declaring that his company Patagonia had a single stakeholder\u2014planet Earth!\nTo learn more, go to the Mailchimp website or connect with Mark on LinkedIn.\n\nAs We Wrap \u2026\n\n\nListen and subscribe\xa0at\xa0Apple Podcasts,\xa0Spotify,\xa0Amazon/Audible,\xa0Google Play,\xa0Stitcher,\xa0TuneIn,\xa0iHeart,\xa0YouTube, and\xa0RSS.\n\n\nRate and review the show\u2014If you like what you\u2019re hearing, be sure to head over to\xa0Apple Podcasts\xa0and click the 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review to help others find the show.\n\n\nDid you hear something you liked on this episode or another?\xa0Do you have a question you\u2019d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show.\n\n\nOn Brand is a part of the\xa0Marketing Podcast Network.\n\n\nUntil next week, I\u2019ll see you on the Internet!\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices