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Marketing Happy Hour

Marketing Happy Hour

By: Marketing Happy Hour
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Summary
 Keeping up with marketing trends and leveling up your career doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Don’t go at it alone. Marketing Happy Hour was created to help you navigate the corporate marketing world, launch your own business, and stay sane while advancing in your career. Join hosts Cassie Tucker and Ally Golden each week as they dive into real conversations with industry guests, covering everything from marketing strategies to career growth and leadership insights—all served with a mix of inspiration and support to keep you thriving. Learn more: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/Marketing Happy Hour Economics Marketing Marketing & Sales
Episodes
  • How to Build a Marketing Strategy for a $250B Industry | Kiara Kempski of The Knot

    How to Build a Marketing Strategy for a $250B Industry | Kiara Kempski of The Knot
    Oct 29 2026

    What does it take to market a product that people only buy once, in the most emotionally charged moment of their lives? Kiara Kempski, VP of Global Consumer Marketing at The Knot Worldwide, leads a team of 80+ across a $250B+ industry and has the battle scars to prove it. In this episode, she breaks down how to build a data-informed brand strategy (not data-led — there’s a difference), why she abandoned big-name influencer campaigns in favor of an always-on roster of real couples, and how that shift drove 80% growth in social revenue. She also gets into what she looks for when hiring marketers, how to stay close to your customer without ever leaving your desk, and the one leadership philosophy that’s carried her from a nonprofit art job to one of the most recognized wedding platforms in the world.

    Key Takeaways:

    // Data-informed vs. data-led is a real distinction. When you’re building a new category or launching something without historical benchmarks, you can’t wait for perfect data. Kiara’s approach: build the story, set the checkpoints, and measure impact after launch rather than before.

    // The influencer math in a finite market is different. With only ~2 million US weddings per year, reach-based influencer metrics don’t translate to ROI the same way they do in beauty or CPG. The Knot shifted to nano and micro creators who tell authentic stories and generate content that doubles as paid creative.

    // Pattern recognition is the most transferable marketing skill. Kiara has worked across fintech, ancestry, health, and weddings. Her throughline: anchor every strategy to the root business or consumer problem, then stay agile on channels and tactics.

    // Social listening is a non-negotiable. She personally monitors TikTok, Reddit wedding subreddits, and brand comments every week and sends her team a roundup every Monday. That proximity to the customer shapes strategy faster than any panel or focus group.

    Connect with Kiara: LinkedIn

    ____

    Join the MHH Collective! The MHH Collective is a community for marketers and business owners to connect, ask real questions, and grow their careers together. Join for access to live Q&As with industry experts, a private Slack community, and ongoing resources: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/mhh-collective

    Say hi! DM us on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - We can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. ⁠

    Join the MHH Collective:⁠ ⁠Join now⁠⁠

    Get the latest marketing trends, open jobs and MHH updates, straight to your inbox: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our email list!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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    28 mins
  • REWIND: How to Use AI as a Strategic Teammate (Not Just a Tool) | Kahlea Wade, Creator and Agency Founder

    REWIND: How to Use AI as a Strategic Teammate (Not Just a Tool) | Kahlea Wade, Creator and Agency Founder
    Oct 22 2026
    What happens when a non-tech founder decides to stop “pushing” prompts and starts “pulling” solutions from AI? Kahlea Wade, creator and founder of Alora Society, walks us through her “aha moment” — building a fully functional internal onboarding app from 500 pages of documentation in just a weekend — and explains why she now treats Claude as a strategic teammate. From streamlining soul-crushing admin tasks to navigating the ethical boundaries of generative AI in the creator economy, this episode is an essential guide for any professional ready to move from AI curiosity to AI proficiency.Key Takeaways:// The “Teammate” Mindset: Stop treating AI as a search engine or a tool; treat it as a brainstorming partner, market researcher, and strategist to unlock its true potential.// Pull vs. Push Prompting: Instead of telling AI what to do (push), describe your frustrations and goals and ask the AI to design the solution (pull).// The Claude Ecosystem Explained: Understand the difference between Claude Chat (ideation), Claude Cowork (agent building and connectors), and Claude Code (efficient, terminal-based execution).// “Life-Quake” Automation: Use AI to handle the “mental load” of tasks like email categorization, task prioritization in ClickUp, and daily industry news briefings.// Human Agency and Taste: While AI can take over “workflows,” it cannot replace “roles.” Humans remain the only ones capable of establishing “taste,” sharing lived experiences, and navigating complex emotions.// The Experimentation Mandate: The only way to overcome AI fear is through “summer shred” style consistency — spending time tinkering with platforms like Lovable and Poppy AI to see what is actually possible.// Claude (Chat, Cowork, Code): Her primary “teammate” for writing and agency operations.// Lovable: The “no-code” savior used to build her internal team app.// Poppy AI: A visual “vision board” interface that houses multiple LLMs (Grok, Gemini, Claude) for content analysis.// ClickUp and Make: The connective tissue used to turn AI outputs into automated business tasks.Connect with Kahlea: ⁠Instagram⁠Kahlea’s Tech Stack Mentioned:Follow MHH on Social: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠____Join the MHH Collective! The MHH Collective is a community for marketers and business owners to connect, ask real questions, and grow their careers together. Join for access to live Q&As with industry experts, a private Slack community, and ongoing resources: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/mhh-collectiveSay hi! DM us on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - We can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. ⁠Join the MHH Collective:⁠ ⁠Join now⁠⁠Get the latest marketing trends, open jobs and MHH updates, straight to your inbox: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our email list!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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    35 mins
  • Tips for Trial Reels, Paid Social, and Organic | Ally Lloyd of Peoplefinders

    Tips for Trial Reels, Paid Social, and Organic | Ally Lloyd of Peoplefinders
    Oct 15 2026
    In this episode, we sit down with Alli Lloyd, Global Director of Marketing at Peoplefinders, who spent twelve years at Match Group building and marketing some of the most recognizable dating apps in the world — from owning brands holistically to standing up an internal creative and creator agency to running full-funnel marketing for The League. Alli brings a sharp, channel-agnostic perspective to marketing that every brand builder needs to hear: paid social is a testing ground, organic is a community tool, LinkedIn is underrated when your audience is there, and trial reels are one of the most underused creative testing tools available right now. She also gets candid about the career advice that has stuck with her since she was twenty-two, why she uses her personal social accounts as a live testing lab, and what she looks for when building a marketing team. Key Takeaways:// Every channel has a job. Know what it is before you turn it on. Alli’s approach to channel strategy is simple: define the goal, set the expectations, and decide upfront what success and an exit look like. LinkedIn for The League drove lower volume and higher cost — but better quality users with higher in-app engagement. That is a win if you define it correctly going in.// Paid social is your fastest testing ground. When you need quick learnings on hooks, messaging, or creative formats and do not have the budget for consumer research, paid social gives you A/B data fast. Use it to test before you scale, not after.// Trial reels are one of the most underused tools in social right now. Alli started testing trial reels on her personal account and saw immediate results on reach and format performance. Her approach: use them to understand what type of content drives shares, comments, and follows — and let those learnings shape the broader content strategy.// Use your personal account as a live lab. Alli has gone viral on TikTok and driven trial reel results by testing on her own page first. If you are relying entirely on your agency or team to tell you what works, you are giving up the fastest feedback loop available to you.// Your job early in your career is to make your boss look good. It sounds old school but Alli credits this filter with accelerating her career at Match Group from an EA role to running full-funnel marketing. Making your manager’s life easier builds the trust that opens every next door.// Start your day grounded, not overwhelmed. The best advice Alli ever received came from a CEO who told her to come into each day prepared and centered — not reactive and stressed. For her it started with a morning run and arriving early. The form evolves, but the principle has never changed.Connect with Ally: LinkedIn____Join the MHH Collective! The MHH Collective is a community for marketers and business owners to connect, ask real questions, and grow their careers together. Join for access to live Q&As with industry experts, a private Slack community, and ongoing resources: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/mhh-collectiveSay hi! DM us on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - We can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. ⁠Join the MHH Collective: ⁠Join now⁠Get the latest marketing trends, open jobs and MHH updates, straight to your inbox: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our email list!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow MHH on Social: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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    35 mins
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