What People Say About You When You’re Not in the Room (with Nicole Wojno Smith) | Ep. 30

Charlie Riley welcomes Nicole Wojno Smith to Beyond the Billboard, joined by co-host Greg Wise. Nicole, SVP of Marketing at Qualytics, shares why brand is more than logos or color palettes—it’s every experience, every interaction, every story people tell when you’re not in the room.ㅤShe describes how brand and demand work together, why her first hire is always a content and brand leader, and how one scrappy “ambush marketing” play—renting a restaurant across from a competitor’s conference—turned into a magnet for attendees and a small-budget win that annoyed the competition. Nicole traces her agency roots, the turning point where brand became her foundation, and how out-of-home, sales alignment, and inbound trust all fuel growth.ㅤThis episode explores real examples, internal buy-in, the cost misconceptions around out-of-home, and why marketers should screenshot every “thank you” from sales.ㅤ👤 Guest BioNicole Wojno Smith is the SVP of Marketing at Qualytics and a four-time marketing leader who started her career on the agency side working with healthcare IT companies. She’s joined early-stage startups from seed through Series A and always begins by building the brand foundation first. Nicole believes brand is a growth engine—rooted in trust, credibility, and education—that drives inbound demand and measurable pipeline.ㅤ📌 What We Cover“Brand is a story people tell about you when you’re not in the room” — why every interaction defines brandMaking brand the first hire in early-stage companies to fuel demand generationAmbush marketing done right: restaurant takeover, window wraps, billboards, and Slack channel buzzSelling bold brand ideas internally by reframing cost, speed, and opportunityThe evolution from agency life to software marketing and the moment brand became essentialOut-of-home as a full spectrum—digital, print, event wrappers—and the myths about costThe unseen lift: organic search, inbound trust, and brand as sales “air cover”Screenshots, Slack messages, and the eternal “not enough leads” jokeㅤLow-Tech, High-Impact Account-Based MarketingIf you’re ready to trade expensive, tech-heavy account-based marketing for a repeatable, revenue-driving ABM program, check out Scrappy ABM. Led by a team of Scrappy ABM experts, they specialize in low-budget plays and programs that deliver high impact—no shiny tools required. Scrappy ABM has built account-based programs that have delivered millions in revenue, and you can build your first successful ABM program with their help.Start with a pilot program or launch an account-based podcast. Learn more at scrappyabm.com. Let's get scrappy.