This week, Emily chats with Catherine Baxter, CEO and founder of Nettie, well known for their products tailored to pickleball lovers. Inspired by her in-laws' love for the sport, Catherine saw a gap in the market for high-quality, well-designed pickleball products and set out to create her own. She launched the company in 2021 and gained traction through local partnerships and media coverage, expanding beyond her hometown of Cincinnati to be distributed through retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Saks Fifth Avenue and Free People. In this episode, Catherine shares her experience building a pickleball brand, the power of leveraging your local community and how key collaborations that align with your values can exponentially impact your growth.

TUNE IN FOR TOPICS LIKE:

0:35 Rise of pickleball and creation of Nettie

4:57 Catherine’s decision to build Nettie from Cincinnati

7:50 Initial launch and getting distribution

13:26 Tapping into local connections to secure PR coverage

20:05 Taking an omnichannel approach to marketing

21:23 Hamilton Musical partnership collaboration 


24:02 Evaluating the ROI of a partnership

26:02 Securing a partnership with Barbie to be the exclusive pickleball partner

34:30 What’s up next for Nettie

Listen to this week’s Local Marketing School conversation!

Other episodes you'll enjoy if you enjoyed Catherine’s episode:

• #1: The Power of Everyday People in Influencer Marketing | Charise Flynn & Emily Steele | Hummingbirds

• #5: Staying Authentic while Scaling a CPG Brand | Nola Morris, Thelma’s Treats

Don't hesitate to reach out! We'd love to hear from you on Instagram and find out which episodes you're enjoying the most. Your feedback is so important to us! Please take a moment to rate the show and leave a review - it supports our ongoing Local Marketing School journey and helps us develop more content that addresses what you’re hoping to learn more about!

Follow along with Catherine: ⁠ LinkedIn

Find Nettie: Website | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | LinkedIn

Connect with Host Emily: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠Follow Local Marketing School on Social: Instagram | TikTok | YouTube

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Ready to work with local influencers? Download our free guide!

Curious what type of influencer you should be working with? Take our quiz!

Stay ahead in the influencer marketing world - Tap into our webinars and resources!

This podcast is produced by Hummingbirds. Learn more about Hummingbirds at hummingbirds.com.

This week, Emily chats with Nola Morris, Chief Marketing Officer of Thelma’s Treats. Thelma’s was founded by her brother and named after their very own great-grandmother, Thelma. Nola has 20 years of experience across multiple industry verticals including financial services, tech, fashion, and consumer packaged goods. In this episode, Nola discusses her responsibilities as CMO, the tactics used to reach new customers and generate sales, and maintaining authenticity as a brand while growing rapidly!

TUNE IN FOR TOPICS LIKE

1:15 Thelma’s brand origin story

2:59 Nola’s career journey

4:18 The day to day as a CMO

8:29 Grocery as a mix of new school and old school marketing

9:33 Evolution of cookie ice cream sandwiches as a category

11:48 Taking your brand from farmers markets to the next level

16:40 Tactics to reach people in new retailers & zip codes

20:38 Understanding retail media programs

25:02 Buyers being more aware of where their dollars are going

27:43 Maintaining an authentic brand with national distribution

30:28 What’s next for Thelma’s

Listen to this week’s Local Marketing School conversation!

Other episodes you'll enjoy if you enjoyed Sarah’s episode:

• #1: The Power of Everyday People in Influencer Marketing | Charise Flynn & Emily Steele | Hummingbirds

• ⁠#3: Transitioning from Events to Ecommerce | Emily Harpel, Art of Sucre⁠

Don't hesitate to reach out! We'd love to hear from you on Instagram and find out which episodes you're enjoying the most. Your feedback is so important to us! Please take a moment to rate the show and leave a review - it supports our ongoing Local Marketing School journey and helps us develop more content that addresses what you’re hoping to learn more about!

Follow along with Nola: ⁠ LinkedIn

Meet Thelma’s: Website | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook

Connect with Host Emily: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠Follow Local Marketing School on Social: Instagram | TikTok | YouTube

Follow Hummingbirds on Social: ⁠Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook

Ready to work with local influencers? Download our free guide!

Curious what type of influencer you should be working with? Take our quiz!

This podcast is produced by Hummingbirds. Learn more about Hummingbirds at hummingbirds.com.

This week, Emily chats with Sarah Cucchiara, VP of Sales and Marketing at Tiger Pistol. Sarah has experience with both B2B and B2C businesses, working both client and agency-side for brands like Hallmark Cards, Helzberg Diamonds, Purina, GE, Diageo, Chase, and Nationwide Insurance and now Tiger Pistol, developing cross-channel marketing and advertising programs that drive results. In this episode, Sarah discusses how to put the pieces together and create a marketing strategy for your brand that responds to current innovation while maximizing the impact you’re already seeing.

TUNE IN FOR TOPICS LIKE:

00:55 Sarah’s career journey

2:46 Social advertising trends then and now

6:14 The definition of a local partner

8:10 How to take a holistic approach to your marketing strategy

10:20 Factors to determine where your brand should have a presence online

12:30 Using TikTok as a search engine

14:48 How to stay up-to-date with a marketing world that’s always changing

18:42 Ideas from big brands you can apply to your small business

22:02 What your data is trying to tell you

24:04 Local marketing shifts Sarah is excited about

Listen to this week’s Local Marketing School conversation!

Other episodes you'll enjoy if you enjoyed Sarah’s episode:

• #2: Local PR for CPG Brands & Beyond | Delaney Vetter, PR Strategist and Copywriter

• ⁠#3: Transitioning from Events to Ecommerce | Emily Harpel, Art of Sucre⁠

  
  

Don't hesitate to reach out! We'd love to hear from you on Instagram and find out which episodes you're enjoying the most. Your feedback is so important to us! Please take a moment to rate the show and leave a review - it supports our ongoing Local Marketing School journey and helps us develop more content that addresses what you’re hoping to learn more about!

Follow along with Sarah: ⁠ LinkedIn

Meet Tiger Pistol: Website

Connect with Host Emily: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠Follow Local Marketing School on Social: Instagram | TikTok | YouTube

Follow Hummingbirds on Social: ⁠Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook

Ready to work with local influencers? Download our free guide!

Curious what type of influencer you should be working with? Take our quiz!

This podcast is produced by Hummingbirds. Learn more about Hummingbirds at hummingbirds.com.