Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Welcome to the Clear Impact Podcast, brought to you by Mitre Brands University. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sheri Conner and I am your host.
So good morning. Welcome to the Clear Impact Podcast.
We are here today with one of my favorite people, Jason Rosenberg. Welcome to the studio.
[00:00:34] Speaker A: Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
[00:00:36] Speaker B: Yeah. So you and I recorded a little bit at the CX event in Scottsdale last year. Almost a year ago we did. But today we're going to be talking about marketing things because you're part of that team.
And so for anybody that may have missed that previous episode, give us a little background, tell us a little bit about your career path, your current role and responsibilities, and what you do here.
[00:00:59] Speaker A: Well, again, thank you for having me. I was a little nervous before we did the podcast in Arizona because I like to talk, as you know, but it's different when there's a microphone in your face.
So it was getting comfortable to being in that setting and then being asked questions. So you made it easy and I appreciate it. So looking forward to the conversation today. I've been here at PGT since 2016, so I started in customer care, moved to inside sales in 2019, and then to marketing in the summer of 2023. So pretty diverse background here. Prior to that, I actually ran assisted living facilities for many years.
[00:01:35] Speaker B: Oh, okay.
[00:01:37] Speaker A: I have a very weird and as I said, diverse background. When I first started here, I used to joke with Benji. I reported to him way back when, you know, it's just windows and doors. Nobody died, did they?
[00:01:46] Speaker B: Ah.
[00:01:46] Speaker A: So. So not that it's not important, but.
[00:01:49] Speaker B: Context, it's a very different environment. Yeah, that's interesting. I think I knew that, but I think I forgot about that. That's interesting. Okay.
[00:01:56] Speaker A: Many years.
[00:01:57] Speaker B: Yeah. All right. And so what are you doing now?
[00:02:00] Speaker A: So now I'm the dealer channel marketing manager. I work very closely with our dealers. Part of what I've done over the almost 10 years I've been here is work with them, built rapport over time, have a comfort level with them, their needs, their unique needs, their desires, go to market strateg.
It makes it easy for me to connect with them and ask questions about current projects and initiatives and whatnot. Hey, is this working? If it's not, why do we have gaps? This is what we're looking at down the road. Is this something that would be effective for you? Because everybody's go to market strategy is different.
[00:02:36] Speaker B: Right.
[00:02:36] Speaker A: What works in Sarasota may not work in Fort Lauderdale.
[00:02:39] Speaker B: Right.
[00:02:40] Speaker A: So to have those Contacts to be able to reach out to them and have those conversations about what is in existence today and what may be on the roadmap for tomorrow. It's good. It makes it easy for me and it allows us to course correct if we're wrong in the wrong direction.
[00:02:56] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm glad there's somebody filling that role because how they market is important. As Jim likes to say, their success is our success and so we can do what we can to set them up for that. And so this podcast series is part of the We Are Florida campaign.
But specifically today we are going to talk about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And it's pretty fun to say, hey, we're a sponsor, not just a regular sponsor, but we're a platinum sponsor. Right.
[00:03:29] Speaker A: Pewter partner.
[00:03:30] Speaker B: Pewter partner. Okay. And so, I mean, other than we like football and we're close to Tampa Bay, why would we become a sponsor of the Bucs?
[00:03:41] Speaker A: Well, we already had a relationship with them. We have the suite, but we weren't able to really take advantage of that connection. They are a big, well known brand, obviously in the area. People may not follow football, but know who the Bucks are.
[00:03:54] Speaker B: Right.
[00:03:54] Speaker A: For us, it gave us an opportunity to dig a little bit deeper and to build the brand awareness which probably didn't exist at that level to the people going to the games before this past April. So ultimately what we decided was it made sense to connect with the Bucks to advertise on their site to to have PGT logos throughout the stadium at Raymond James.
So we have the ribbon ad which goes around the bowl of the stadium where it has PGT custom windows and doors. We're on the tower wall. We have walls in one of the breezeways, concourse art. And it just gives people another glimpse of who we are. We have products, we have QR codes leading them to the website.
We know people aren't going to the stadium looking for windows and doors. We understand that.
[00:04:40] Speaker B: Right.
[00:04:41] Speaker A: But it's all about brand awareness. You may not meet me today, but you could need me tomorrow.
[00:04:45] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:04:46] Speaker A: So who's that dealer? I was thinking about that. I saw, you know, and we did activations. I'll get into that in a second as well. Who's that manufacturer? What do they sell? I broke my window today or I've got a storm approaching.
[00:04:57] Speaker B: Right.
[00:04:58] Speaker A: I mentioned a dealer. So we had two activations this year where we had window wall out on Bucks Beach. We co branded, we had, we had giveaways, swag, et cetera. Because we need to add the component of lead generation. As well. It's not just brand awareness. It's also, can we generate leads from this partnership?
[00:05:17] Speaker B: Right.
[00:05:17] Speaker A: So people would come up, they'd grab the swag, they'd see the PGT logo, they'd give their information. Hopefully, Window Wall could set up appointments.
So at the end of the day, if we can check off both boxes, we think it's an effective use of our time and our energy and certainly resources and the outlay, which it's a pretty large expense. But ultimately, if it leads brand awareness down the road and more leads coming in, and it's worth it.
[00:05:42] Speaker B: Okay. And so Window Wall is one of our dealers.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: They're one of our dealers in the Tampa area.
[00:05:47] Speaker B: They have multiple offices, and they were there. And so you said the Bucks Beach. What is that?
[00:05:51] Speaker A: So right across from Will call one of the entrances, they have what's called Bucks beach. And it's just a road.
And manufacturers, Suzuki, other companies will go in there and they'll have the activations throughout the year. They'll have a booth, they'll have awnings, they'll have giveaways, prizes, et cetera. And again, an opportunity for lead generation.
What windowall did is they had samples there, they had literature, they had the swag, they brought people to the booth. The Kleinschmitts, who we work with, the partners of ours, were at the activation this past weekend, so they posted that on Social. Again, just an opportunity to get people there and get comfortable with the product.
[00:06:31] Speaker B: We are sharing our expertise around all topics relating to the window and door industry.
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So it's a lot more just advertising, publicity, sponsorship, that kind of thing. Just so, Jason, I know we didn't prep for this question, but do you know how many people can fit in Raymond James Stadium?
[00:07:02] Speaker A: I think about 75,000.
[00:07:03] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:07:04] Speaker A: I think that's the capacity.
[00:07:05] Speaker B: Okay. And they have what, a dozen home games every year?
[00:07:08] Speaker A: Eight home games.
[00:07:09] Speaker B: Eight home games. Okay. Still, though, that's incredible. And there's other events that happen there too, right?
[00:07:14] Speaker A: There are concerts. USF plays their home games there. So people see the concourse, which is important. Again, you're not there necessarily to look at windows and doors, but it's top of mind, and that's important. We're included in the newsletter for the Bucks, and there's a dedicated email, so we do some cross marketing between the companies.
And at the end of the day, again, it's all about roi. You have to get a return on your investment, but you gotta play the long game. That's not something that happens right away.
[00:07:43] Speaker B: Yeah, it's hard to measure that too. But I know we ask people like, how did you hear about us? And if you're in Florida for any length of time, you're gonna hear about us because we're everywhere.
[00:07:53] Speaker A: We are.
[00:07:53] Speaker B: And so how do you see all of this effort impacting our Florida business?
[00:07:58] Speaker A: I think it's similar. I think it's brand awareness for them as well. I think being connected to a company that people know and trust is important. You know, we've been doing this for 45 Florida. We helped to write the codes. You know, after Hurricane Andrew in 92. Rod Herchberger certainly played an integral role in that. And at the end of the day, it leads to peace of mind. I know who they are. I'm comfortable with who they are. They're not a fly by night company that could be here today and gone tomorrow. I think that all plays into the conversation. You know, for homeowner, I mean, we're all consumers, right? When I go to spend that kind of money, I want a comfort level with the company I'm going to do business with. Not just the company may be doing the installation, but, but the manufacturer as well.
[00:08:36] Speaker B: And if I need a part leader, where does that come from and how long is it going to take to get it? And you know, you do want that assurance for sure.
And so as part of the we are Florida campaign, what does that mean to you?
[00:08:50] Speaker A: I am so happy you asked that question. I am a huge fan of this campaign. At the end of the day, we are all, as I mentioned, consumers. We live in Florida. When storms approach, hurricanes, we are preparing for those storms, much like the homeowners, the end user or the dealers. Whether we have impact products, whether we have shutters, we have to bring stuff off the lanai and put it in the garage, we have to prepare for the storm. We are Florida, just like our consumers. But we're also, you know, there after the storm as well.
[00:09:22] Speaker B: Right.
[00:09:23] Speaker A: We have to then clean things up, put things back. If there were issues post storm, we have to engage with the dealers and the homeowners at that level too. So to me, we are Florida is. We live this together.
We do this at the same time as you do. And if you have questions, we can be empathetic because it's not something we see from Illinois. It's something we're living as it's happening well.
[00:09:44] Speaker B: And I love the whole backstory, which Rod shared some time ago, which is how we got involved in helping write the building code, is because we were part of the relief efforts, Homestead, in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in 92, and because our trucks were down there handing out water and tarps and food and supplies, because Homestead was flattened, we became known as a company that cared about people. And what were we going to do to help make sure this never happened again? And so that's how we got involved in those things. It wasn't because we were this really incredible manufacturer, though we are.
But it wasn't because of that. It was because of the humanitarian efforts that we had put forth. And we still do that.
[00:10:31] Speaker A: We do every storm. And look, it's visceral for people. It's how you feel. And you see that logo, that truck pulls up and you can't really appreciate what that means until it happens to you. And we've been through enough storms the last few years. Helene and Milton, just last year, where you need tarps, you need generators, you need flashlights and batteries, you need things in water. And PGT has always been there and certainly Mitre as well. So it really, you know, it makes you feel like maybe this is a company I want to do business with because at the end of the day, they're not just telling me the windows and doors. They actually care about my well being.
[00:11:06] Speaker B: Right.
[00:11:06] Speaker A: They don't have to get in the truck and drive through the storm, but they choose to do so because it's the right thing to do. And it's always about doing the right thing.
[00:11:14] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly.
So we have one more question, and I'm asking this of everybody in this series, and that is about the Mitre DNA. So we have these statements that really describe how we operate as a company.
And there's like, I don't know, 15 or 20 or so. Which one speaks to you the most?
[00:11:36] Speaker A: I think they all really speak to me. I think the one that speaks to me the most is we question the status quo and have a bias for action. We've all heard people say, well, we've always done it that way. Just what we've always done. Yeah, that may have been relevant and true 20 years ago, but is it today?
Just because you've done it one way for so long doesn't mean it's the right way or the right way. In today's environment, things have changed dramatically. You know, people are resistant to change. They're comfortable.
They think things that are formulaic And I get to use muscle memory because it's just I do what I do without having to think about it. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. But at a certain point, you have to be willing to try something new.
[00:12:17] Speaker B: Right.
[00:12:17] Speaker A: If you're not rowing in the right direction, then maybe it's time to reevaluate, you know, the process that exists and, you know, progress over perfection. You have to at least make some changes along the way and be comfortable in doing those things. And sometimes it's okay to be uncomfortable because that's how you affect change. So, you know, to me, it's a commitment to excellence. You know, you have to evolve. You can't be the same thing today that you were yesterday.
[00:12:43] Speaker B: No. Well, because the world doesn't let you.
[00:12:45] Speaker A: No.
[00:12:46] Speaker B: I mean, you can and you'll be like Radio Shack and Blockbuster and all.
[00:12:51] Speaker A: And you show up in these movies where, you know, they have flashbacks backs to 1995 and you have your kids asking you, what is that? You rented videos at a store.
[00:12:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:59] Speaker A: Yeah, that was our Friday night before you were born. Yes, that's what we did.
[00:13:03] Speaker B: Yes. And if you spent enough time wandering around trying to decide which movie to watch, you didn't get anything and you just went home and went to bed. Cause yes, yes, that's what I remember.
[00:13:13] Speaker A: And I do, too.
It's all about being curious and open minded, be willing to try something different. And to me, I think that resonates. I think that's important.
I try to live my life that way. We'll see if I'm successful, who knows? But I think it's important.
[00:13:25] Speaker B: Well, that's a great one, especially from somebody in marketing, because you have to be able to keep up with what's happening and be able to reach people where they are and be creative and think outside the box. So that's amazing. I like that one, too.
[00:13:38] Speaker A: Okay, thank you.
[00:13:39] Speaker B: All right, well, this has been a great conversation. Thank you so much for your time and making your way down to the studio and recording an official podcast with me.
[00:13:49] Speaker A: Well, thank you for having me. Made it easy and I knew you would.
[00:13:51] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:52] Speaker A: I appreciate you.
[00:13:53] Speaker B: Okay. I appreciate you. Thank you.
[00:13:55] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:13:55] Speaker B: Have a great day.
[00:13:56] Speaker A: You too.
[00:13:56] Speaker B: All right, bye.
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