Event Marketer Spring 2023 - 59

MARAGONichelle
CURRENT POSITION: VP-Brand Marketing & Strategy,
Spectrum Reach
DREAM TEAM TITLE: VP-Innovation
WHY WE WANT HER: She draws on a solid foundation in
digital to create more access and
opportunities for audiences.
Michelle Aragon describes her career journey
as nontraditional, having bounced back and
forth between the agency and brand sides of
advertising and marketing. All the while, she
became a multifaceted marketer, collecting valuable
experiences in field marketing, promotions,
media strategy, business development, point of
sale, broadcast and ad campaigns. But a key skill
of hers grew from adopting digital and social
media early on.
trum
Events are vital to SpecReach's
strategy,
" When
social media was evolving into a marketing
tool, I really wanted to understand how
you use it beyond some of the traditional channels
like television, print or online websites and
banners, " Aragon says. " I went to work for a
friend of mine to learn about social media and
digital innovation. Then, I used all of those
experiences to land my first brand management
role, which was at Constellation Brands. The
reason that was a really pivotal role was because
at that point in time, I was the only person who
had digital experience. I was able to lend that
digital lens. "
Aragon credits her past experiences for getting
her to her current role as vp-brand marketing
and strategy at Spectrum Reach, particularly
a previous position at MAGNA Global, which
focused on marketplace trends and consumer
consumption behaviors related to TV and
streaming. At Spectrum Reach, the advertising
sales division of Charter Communications, Aragon
is responsible for directing the long-term
vision and marketing strategy for its multiscreen
product and services portfolio. She oversees
eventmarketer.com
three areas: branded integrated marketing, customer
engagement and enablement, and experiences
and communications.
" What I've seen change is the shift to a customer-centric
approach, " Aragon says. " One of
the things that has been critical in the work that
I've been leading here is gaining a unified view of
our customer journey and really creating those
conditions to activate our customer data because
that's what's going to help us successfully execute
our marketing efforts. "
Joining Spectrum Reach in November 2020
during the pandemic, Aragon reimagined the
marketing team to fulfill modern brand needs
and was intentional about forging connections
and constantly communicating with team members
virtually. Twice a year, she hosts one-on-one
meetings with each of her 42 team members,
making sure everyone can share information,
ask questions and identify challenges and ideas.
Aragon says, emphasizing
the personal connection
in-person events create
with customers, particularly
small businesses. She
sees data capture as a huge
opportunity for growth in
events, feeding into Spectrum
Reach's overarching
customer journey to help
inform strategies and tactics.
" Virtual has provided a
level of accessibility, where now you're able to
incorporate things like more webinars or things
that you would have kept for purely an in-person
event because you see that as the value exchange
or the benefit of coming, " she says. " I think we're
going to continue to strike the balance with
infusing great storytelling with creativity to create
a unique visual and physical manifestation of
the brand. We want those to truly be experiences
where you don't just have fun at the event, you're
also taking something away from it or you're
learning something or you're thinking about
something differently [from] before you had the
experience. "
Spectrum Reach will soon launch a metaverse
experience and Auto Accelerator, an annual client
experience for customers to engage with the
brand in an exclusive forum, exchange ideas,
hear from speakers and keep a pulse on the
industry. And who better to lead it than Aragon.
SPRING 2023 EVENT MARKETER
59
http://www.eventmarketer.com
Event Marketer Spring 2023

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