EX through a Marketing Lens: Elevating Brand Stories & Employee Experiences with Matt Rivera & Gary Sevounts

This episode features an interview with Matt Rivera, Chief Marketing Officer at Day & Zimmermann and Gary Sevounts, Chief Marketing Officer at Simpplr. Matt has worked for Day & Zimmermann for 34 years, from payroll administrator to the first person in the marketing department. He leads a diverse team of marketers and communications professionals who contribute to a cohesive, professional and high-performing marketing organization. Gary is a veteran CMO with a track record of building high-growth demand and revenue engines, effective marketing teams, differentiated brands, and establishing categories. Previously, he was CMO at Malwarebytes, Socure, and Equifax’s Identity and Fraud Division. In this episode, Miriam, Matt, and Gary explore the connection between customer experience and employee experience, the importance of authenticity and transparency in storytelling, and leveraging AI to enhance communication and measurement. ------------------- “ With the automation that we have today for the employee experience, you can do that and then transfer it right over into the external marketing. You're tweaking the message. But it's the same types of messaging. It's the same campaigns. We're looking at the same analytics. All of those things really start connecting a lot. I think, in a lot of cases, the employee experience and what you're doing there, if you're doing it right, it's authentic, can really drive some of the marketing stuff too.” – Matt Rivera “ Brand starts internally.  It starts with a mission and starts with the employees believing in why. Why did we start the company? Why are we doing what we're doing all day long? Why are we passionate about it? In the companies that I worked with and I dealt with, when there is that connection and it's genuine, employees become ambassadors. In the companies where that connection doesn't exist, people don't believe it and it’s just words, then it can take a negative turn really quickly.” – Gary Sevounts ------------------- Episode Timestamps: *(02:51): Matt and Gary’s career journeys *(07:01): Getting to know Matt and Gary *(08:41): Exploring the connection between CX and EX *(12:56): The art of great storytelling  *(24:15): Marketing strategies for Internal Communications *(35:36): Leveraging technology for employee engagement ------------------- Links: Connect with Matt on LinkedIn Learn more about Day & Zimmermann Connect with Gary on LinkedIn Connect with Miriam on LinkedIn Cohesion Podcast About Simpplr