Building Tech Brands That Feel Human in an AI World

You jumped up to the 39th most valuable brand in the inner brand. First time on the list in our 40-year history.

>> So, what's that about? I got the call. I

was obviously pleasantly surprised, happy, and validated from all the good work we've been doing. It really came down to three things. I'd say 60 to 70% of it is what we've been doing with Snapdragon to build Snapdragon beyond a tech enthusiast brand to a household

name. That was a major driver of it. The

name. That was a major driver of it. The

inner brand 100 list this year is about companies who are entering new ecosystems, building new ecosystems and disrupting, driving transformation on this diversification journey for the past several years. How we're partnering with some of the biggest companies in

the world across different business sectors.

>> You set a tough benchmark.

>> It's pretty amazing KPIs and those stats and the results that we've seen have been phenomenal.

>> Don, hey, welcome to the CMO podcast again. Thank you for having me again

again. Thank you for having me again here at the ANA Masters. It's a big meeting, 2500 people. Most of them come to the big presentations. You're doing

one today in the afternoon in a couple hours. So, so I want you to go there

hours. So, so I want you to go there first with us. Are you nervous about it?

you know, not uh you know, every time you get on stage, there's a little bit of that. But

of that. But >> when you a when you know what you're talking about and you can tell a story and um it's coming from your experiences and you've got passion for it, it all

comes pretty naturally.

>> Yeah. Yeah. Well, you're good in your feet. I've seen you many times. So, it's

feet. I've seen you many times. So, it's

Yeah. It's just about being comfortable with what you're doing, right? So,

what's your topic today?

>> I'm actually going to talk about sort of uh how brand value drives business value.

>> Oh, wonderful. and that um the age-old sort of challenge that we have as marketers in convincing oftentimes our the rest of the seauite or the

organization in general um and then how what is the recipe to actually prove that out as you go into uh sort of different marketing activities and initiatives. So it's it's um and then

initiatives. So it's it's um and then I'm going to use Snapdragon as the case study >> and so it'll be sort of a thread throughout. Yeah. Um I you know I'm

throughout. Yeah. Um I you know I'm talking to a room full of marketers so it's going to be more show less tell. It

should be pretty cool.

>> Yeah. You know when the ANA opened up I went to the ANA growth council simo growth council meeting and I sat in there and they talked about the challenges the priorities they're tackling. The first one was proving the

tackling. The first one was proving the value of brand to financial value of the company and the results. So you're spot on with the growth council is working

and I still think with all the data we have and all the analytics that's still an issue that some so many companies are wrestling with. So I can't wait for the

wrestling with. So I can't wait for the talk.

>> Yeah, absolutely. So the bottom line will be >> uh the bottom line will be um if you have the right recipe um uh which we're not going to reveal here because I'm going to reveal it on stage that you

know ultimately what you're trying to do is drive resonance and resonance drives action um and then that action you know turns into results and then those

results you can share back with the organization um and uh there's lots of tailwinds in our favor. Um uh I was just

at the innerbrand 100 um uh event last week in New York and the data that they shared with regards to the innerbrand 100 for example over the last 20 plus years the innerbrand 100 has

outperformed the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ 100 >> um from a from a business company results perspective. So

results perspective. So >> uh so I think that there's lots of tailwind data in our favor.

>> I think we need to help ourselves. Um I

think we need to stop talking performance versus brand.

>> Yeah. Um it's you know your brand has to perform.

>> Uh so um uh so if we can help ourselves I think that's another thing we can do.

>> So >> Mark Pitchard said earlier in this meeting is there any other kind of marketing other than performance marketing.

>> Right.

>> Right. I mean it's just like it's it all has to have some sort of objective.

Yeah.

>> Uh if so if we can I think we can help ourselves a little bit too.

>> Yeah. Well you jumped up to what the 39th most valuable brand in the inner brand.

>> First time on the list in our 40-year history.

>> Yeah. So what's that about? What do you think's behind?

>> When I got the call um uh the you know a couple days before I was I was obviously pleasantly surprised um and and happy and validated from all the good work

we've been doing. Um so innerbrand tracks the company for 3 years before they're even eligible to be on the list.

Once that sort of process is completed then it's all about ranking and and establishing those rankings. So the

first question I asked to Gonzalo who's the CEO of Enterprand I said how did we get here? Um, I mean, I kind of have an

get here? Um, I mean, I kind of have an idea about basic on what we've been doing, but I'd like to hear like your methodology a little bit more and it really came down to three things. Um,

you know, I'd say 60 to 70 70% of of it is what we've been doing with Snapdragon to build Snapdragon beyond a tech enthusiast brand to a household name.

And um, and that's that was a major driver of it. Now, Innerbrand, if you make it on the list with Innerbrand, it's it's based on um, how financial reporting happens in your company. So

Snapdragon as a brand would never show up at an 100 because we don't report financials on Snapdragon separately. Y

>> uh because it cuts across product categories and businesses.

>> Um so Qualcomm obviously is the name on the on the on the list. Um so about 65 to 70% is the work we've been doing there. Um and then I think the other two

there. Um and then I think the other two things that he mentioned were our diversification strategy. Um the inner

diversification strategy. Um the inner brand 100 list this year is about companies who are entering new ecosystems, building new ecosystems and disrupting and driving transformation.

and Qualcomm, we've been on this diversification journey for the past several years. Um, and that's and it's

several years. Um, and that's and it's working and so it's proving out even in places like this. And then the third thing is our our tremendous partnerships um that we've announced over the last

several years with Aramco and Meta and Microsoft um etc. and and how we're you know how we're partnering with some of the biggest, you know, companies in the world across different um business

sectors, things like that. All of that together kind of culminated in us popping on at number 39.

>> Yeah. Congratulations. It's great. Thank

you. Now, when you think about you can go to a meeting every week in our industry. Where do you feel like you

industry. Where do you feel like you learn the most like over the last year or two of meetings you go to?

>> Oh, wow. I mean, I learn a lot from my people um from my team, but uh as far as external sources, um you know, there's there's been great forums. Um I have had

the honor and privilege of being on the Forbes top 50 CMO list for the past four years. And that event that Seth Matlin

years. And that event that Seth Matlin puts on is an amazing event. Um I learn a lot from my from my colleagues there.

Um and uh and and that is a big um sort of sponge moment for me over the course of the year. some of the PATOW stuff that I participate in has been great not only for networking and just getting to

know some of my peers but but also some key learnings uh about what others are doing and and then through that network of CMOs that I've built um I don't hesitate to pick up the phone and call

Emily Ketchum from Lenovo or call Craig Bombers from American Eagle and say hey like I saw you did this um and this is you know it's really great work you know tell me about it and um I just I just

sent Lorraine Tuhill from Google an email because I just love the new pixel stuff that they've put out.

>> Yeah, >> that's another sort of constant exchange and dialogue and learning, you know, for me.

>> No, I should pause on that for audience.

That's a very powerful thing you just said. Not everyone thinks to do that,

said. Not everyone thinks to do that, >> right?

>> And I think it is we're not alone.

>> So many people are wrestling with the same issues. Uh you can learn so much

same issues. Uh you can learn so much from these people. They're happy to do it. Our our industry is generally pretty

it. Our our industry is generally pretty generous.

>> Yeah, absolutely. You know, so I just think when you're wrestling with something, think about someone else who may have the same kind of issue or had the issue. Give them a call.

the issue. Give them a call.

>> Yeah, absolutely.

>> It's just so good. It doesn't cost anything.

>> It doesn't cost anything. It's great

from a sort of a sounding board perspective. Um and uh and I value that

perspective. Um and uh and I value that tremendously.

>> Yeah. Now, you're coming off a big conference, the 10th annual Snapdragon Summit. Yes. I saw lots of video of you,

Summit. Yes. I saw lots of video of you, of others on it. It was very energetic.

You called it, I think, the best ever conference you've had of the 10 years.

So, tell me why was it the best ever?

What happened there to, you know, prompt you to say that?

>> Well, I mean, Snapdragon Summit has been some it's it's it's one of our only owned events. Um, and it's really about

owned events. Um, and it's really about immersing our audience, and it's primarily focused on uh media, influencer, K, and and our insiders as

the main audience global. Um, and then we integrate our partners into into the the agenda. Um, but it's it's really

the agenda. Um, but it's it's really about immersing everybody into the Snapdragon world. I call it Snapdragon

Snapdragon world. I call it Snapdragon land and not only just announcing new products and new innovation and technology, but also, you know, showing how it's being applied. Um, showing a little bit about what the future looks

like. Um, so with that, you know, how do

like. Um, so with that, you know, how do we create this environment and how do we my team's always about raising the bar?

Um, and and do, you know, how do we make it better and how do we evolve it over time?

>> Um, we start with a great base, which is Hawaii. Um, and so yeah, everybody was

Hawaii. Um, and so yeah, everybody was happy. It's just it's a happy place.

happy. It's just it's a happy place.

>> Um, so you've got you've got mood on your side. We changed venues this year.

your side. We changed venues this year.

Uh, we decided to shake it up a little bit and go outdoor stage, indoor stage.

Um, which worked out really really well.

It was a little hot. Um, but, uh, for the most part, just the the conversation, the view, the environment um, was spectacular. And so we got a lot of really positive feedback. So, and

then we changed the format a little bit this year, too, where we really positioned Cristiano as sort of that thought leader, >> your CEO.

>> Yeah, our CEO. And in the past, he's done everything like he's announced the products or he's talked about the products. And what we really wanted him

products. And what we really wanted him to do is really provide thought leadership about where things are going from our perspective. Um, and of course, AI is a big topic of conversation and

we've been a company commercializing and researching AI for like 14 years. So, so

we wanted him to sort of talk about it and his vision um and put it in the context of Snapdragon and what Snapdragon delivers. And so we we

Snapdragon delivers. And so we we arranged for him just to have a very short sort of day one visionary keynote around personal AI. And we thought that was really um interesting to the

audience. And then we arranged for him

audience. And then we arranged for him to talk to to do several COC conversations and we brought in partners like Shanteneu from Adobe.

>> Uh we brought in Tar from Humane AI. We

started with Ricosttolo from Google and so it was just a really nice sort of um three days of a little bit of thought leadership, product launch experiences, fun. We bring our insiders, our

fun. We bring our insiders, our community to to to Snapdragon Summit.

They provide a lot of the energy as well. Um and so, uh I just think the

well. Um and so, uh I just think the team looks every year, we analyze, we deconstruct, and then we say, "Okay, what could we do next year to make it even better?"

even better?" >> Let's talk about Snapdragon. I think

that's what you're going to talk about on the big stage, but you know, it was launched in 2007.

>> So, it's an 18-year-old brand or so.

It's a huge brand. I know you don't report it separately, but everything I deduce and read about, it's a gigantic brand. It crosses your various

brand. It crosses your various businesses. So, could you talk a little

businesses. So, could you talk a little bit about take us back to 2007? What was

the insight or the catalyst to launch this new to the world brand slashbrand name subbrand I guess of Qualcomm, >> right? and take us a little bit through

>> right? and take us a little bit through about how did you build it from nothing to a monster in a good way a major driver of your growth >> well it predates me actually um so I've

only been at the company nine years total CMO for four so the stewardship of the brand has been under my tutelage for four years u prior to that there is a lot of folklore um about you know how

did the brand just come to exist what I can tell you is that a long long time ago before my time the company really transitioned from more of an IP technology licensing company to a product company and with the advent of

that introduced its first kind of set of of chip semiconductor chips. um and they needed a name um and the the target market the primary target market at that

time was really Asia uh throughout Asia and a lot of the customer base was there uh whether it be China, Taiwan, Korea and so um they decided to use I believe

it was in her brand um to uh to do a name exploration and um several things came to bear. One, dragons are very, uh,

revered in folklore, especially in in in Asia. Um, uh, snapdragon

Asia. Um, uh, snapdragon translates into Mandarin, um, as Xiaolong. Um, it's like fast, you know,

Xiaolong. Um, it's like fast, you know, performance, fast dragon. Um, the color red, um, is a very popular color. And,

um, and our icon, our fireball, is sort of the ying and the yang, the power performance, uh, sort of, uh, thing. So,

it all kind of came together. And then

at that time there was a little bit more focus on a dragon as as a symbol of what Snapdragon is. We've kind of moved away

Snapdragon is. We've kind of moved away from that um except for in gaming. So

over so it kind of it got launched and I think whoever sort of went through that process did a fantastic job and created a a really cool looking iconic piece of

you know clay to mold. Um, fast forward, uh, and, uh, and Snapdragon sort of just kind of hummed along a little bit and I think the company really after creating it really didn't know what to do with

it. Um, because the company

it. Um, because the company foundationally and fundamentally is an engineering and technology company and really didn't understand the value of brand uh, or building the brand or

what it meant to build the brand. Um,

they named it, they created a logo and they thought they were done.

>> Yeah. For the most part. Uh so fast forward to uh I joined the company in 2016.

Snapdragon was kind of experiencing very good sort of foundational um awareness and affinity in Asia but that was pretty much it primarily China and that's the only place we did put it we'd put any

investment behind building it as a more consumerf facing brand and that was primarily with tech enthusiasts in in Asia who tend to be more techsavvy anyway. Um and so but it was very

anyway. Um and so but it was very unstructured and not purposeful. Mhm.

>> So, it was kind of sitting there and and I was really thinking, wow, this is powerful asset. Um there's more that we

powerful asset. Um there's more that we can do and as we look to diversify and expand and grow where Snapdragon kind of lives, um we're going to enter markets where we're not the leader or we're or

it's not a green field opportunity where we're going to have competition. So, the

power of building this brand is really going to pay off for us. So, before

Cristiano became CEO and I became CMO, we had a conversation and I said, I really think that we need to focus on Snapdragon. uh a lot more as we look

Snapdragon. uh a lot more as we look towards what's the future of mobile um as we look for towards other product categories um because I think it's going to be a really important comp component

to our success and he said I agree um and I can't tell you how refreshing it is to have a CEO who was supportive of what you're trying to do. So we sort of started formulating a plan to really

bring Snapdragon into the light more and that's where it all started and then since then it's been a tremendous journey of um challenging you know the

status quo with regards to investment portfolio and investment strategy um uh convincing the rest of my peers in the seauite as well as the the company that it was worth spending the money and the

time to do this um and that there was going to be true results.

Um and so and building that credibility and and we've done that. Um and we made another really really important pivot uh about a year and a half two years ago

when all this momentum and when Snapdragon started to be more wellknown around the world uh where Cristiano came to me and said I want Snapdragon to be a consumer brand and I want it to become a

cultural icon.

>> And I was like amazing. Do you really know what you just asked?

Because that's a big thought. Um, and I said, "Are you prepared to really do what it takes um to to get there?" Um,

and I said, "It's exciting." I mean, it's any CMO's dream to have that be, you know, be asked of you. Um, but it, you know, it's it's a lot. And from a company who couldn't spell the word

brand seven, eight years ago, it's a it's it's a lot a lot. So, but he's he was he's been committed and and excited and that really took us to the next level and that's where you what you see

today uh over the past four years all the work that we put into that's why Snapdragon Summit is what it is today.

That's why we see we have like 50 million views of of an event every every year um by just the general public because they're interested in seeing what we're doing.

>> Um and of course the number one challenge is you can't walk into a store and buy a Snapdragon, right? So, so how do I take that, you know, 5 and a half years of experience at Intel, you know,

with the Intel inside playbook, um, that I learned and knew very, very well, but put it in the context of something much bigger, which is our opportunity with Snapdragon. Um, and kind of create a two

Snapdragon. Um, and kind of create a two 2.0 version of that. And that's what we've been doing.

>> Well, it's a great name, as you said. It

really is. And talk a bit about the um brand character of Snapdragon. So every

brand obviously has an attitude, a tone, a point of view, a voice. So talk about that because I think you have managed that pretty well.

>> Yeah, one of the things that we needed to bring to uh as I mentioned the the brand was sort of unstructured and undisiplined. We had to bring some

undisiplined. We had to bring some structure some in architecturally speaking to how we were going to to to build um success. So first we had

started with the fundamentals brand ethos um you know what is Snapdragon?

What does it stand for? um who is it in service of? Um and then how do we show

service of? Um and then how do we show up in the world and tell our story? We

start off with some great assets, right?

Everyone loves a good icon and we have a tremendous icon. The fireball is a

tremendous icon. The fireball is a tremendous icon and our ultimate goal is to have the fireball stand on its own and whenever you see that fireball, you know it's Snapdragon. Um because one of the challenges we have is Snapdragon's

kind of a long name.

>> Um so when you put the fireball and Snapdragon together, um spatially speaking, it can be challenging at times. We had to build a brand ethos. So

times. We had to build a brand ethos. So

we started out with, you know, who do we stand what what's our sort of manifesto?

What does it stand for? Who's it in service of? And we built um from the

service of? And we built um from the past with a nod to the future um uh our our signature red color and we evolved

that we introduced a new color palette for the brand um to kind of inject boldness and joyfulness which is part of the ethos um into it into it and how we

visually show up. Everything from our photography style to how we talk about it and copy all that was formalized for the first time. Um and uh and and I call

that Snapdragon 2.0 and and we and we've been on the 2.0 sort of train um for now about three and a half years. Uh and uh and we actually are just about to roll

out 3.0 which is a refreshed uh brand ethos based on what we've learned uh over the past three or four years. Um,

and the good news is that it's evolving in a really really compelling way. Um,

and we're seeing um, uh, we're seeing, uh, all the really thoughtfulness that we worked with, um, with our with our agency partners as well as the internal team to put together kind of the meaning

of this whole thing really pay off and and where it shows up. And it's really cool because it it lives in multiple product categories, right? So at a macro level

categories, right? So at a macro level it has to stand for something that people can understand and people can rally behind. But then in its instances

rally behind. But then in its instances it also has to be very very um sort of the steward of product truth um whether it's in your car or in your phone or in

your PC or in your glasses or in your watch. Um and so we have to bring that

watch. Um and so we have to bring that context as well. Um and so it's it's been uh it's been challenging and fun and um we really like where we're headed. Um and you know we're seeing the

headed. Um and you know we're seeing the fruits of our labor will pay off not only in business metrics um but also in recognition like brand Z for the first time Snapdragon showed up this year as

well at number 38 on brand Z which is phenomenal and then of course we talked about inner brand from a business perspective um you know my finance team could not be happier that the poll that we've created with Snapdragon in product

categories like smartphone has enabled us to increase ASPs to to maintain healthy margins and to grow market share >> that's what a brand does Yeah, Brandice, >> you know, as you're speaking, I'm thinking of Rocket and Jonathan

Mildenhal's impact there. You know, he went there, I don't know, it's been two years, maybe a year and a half. And I

watched online a lot of the videos of him internally as well as externally kind of reststaging, renewing the ethos and the attitude and the tone of voice of Rocket. And it's been very positive,

of Rocket. And it's been very positive, very energetic, good for the business.

But actually, I think there's a lot of parallels with what you're doing with Snapdragon and what he and they are doing with Rocket.

>> Yeah. And when you continually evolve like Rocket has as well, you have to look at like new, you know, pieces of the puzzle that you might be missing.

Um, one of the and then you have to understand kind of where generationally people are going with their attitudes.

Um, and and figure out are you being left behind? Are you are you tracking?

left behind? Are you are you tracking?

Are you getting too far ahead? Um, and

one of the things that again as part of our Snapdragon 3.0 or 2.5 3.0 So um evolution is you know we are taking a cue from Gen Z gen alpha when it comes

to brands with purpose um and you know when when you talk about affinity and and loyalty you know it's not just good enough to have a great product anymore especially with this with these generations they want to feel good about

their purchases and the brands they associate themselves with and they want to feel like those brands are also doing good and Snapdragon because of who we are and the technology that we we do a

lot of good because we enable people all over the world to have accessibility to a technology and and that techn what that can do for them in their daily lives. So that in itself is amazing.

lives. So that in itself is amazing.

It's an amazing story. But we also had to lean in. And so we've, you know, we went down this sort of purposefulness path a little bit with the brand and built some associations and some partnerships that

>> kind of put an accentuation of that goodness. Um again, it's just another

goodness. Um again, it's just another aspect, another dimension of the brand that we've introduced in the last year and a half. What did you learn at Intel that's been most useful for you in this process with Snapdragon?

>> First and foremost is that you can bring relevance and resonance to something that is is less tangible and you can tell a story around that and Intel did

that masterfully. Intel inside was a

that masterfully. Intel inside was a masterful, you know, master class in case in marketing um something that you

can't buy. So I took I took a lot of the

can't buy. So I took I took a lot of the pages out of the Intel inside playbook and then I also learned a lot from um the limitations of of that story. Uh you

know uh that that Intel inside story was limited by product category.

>> Um Intel as a company sort of missed a couple really key inflection points in the technology sort of revolution. Um

>> and so over time that opportunity became smaller and smaller and smaller and more verticalized. Um and then when you saw

verticalized. Um and then when you saw you know after building it and establishing it um they took their foot off the gas um and started focusing more

on performance um and uh and you've seen sort of the degradation that that has that has that has had. So understanding

that, learning from that, um, and making sure that we don't make the same mistakes, um, or heading on down the same path. But what they've done to take

same path. But what they've done to take the brand and then couple it with every part of whether it's a linear funnel exercise or a nonlinear funnel exercise was a master class for sure.

>> Yeah. I had you on the show about four years ago. You were a new CMO. You're in

years ago. You were a new CMO. You're in

your first year as CMO. We had a great chat. This one's even better, by the

chat. This one's even better, by the way. Um, and my three takeaways though,

way. Um, and my three takeaways though, I I look back on that. You talked about the need for marketing to be accountable for business results. You talked about how companies need to own their narrative. We're speaking a lot about

narrative. We're speaking a lot about that right now. And you talk about how leadership and leaders need to evolve to build to build stronger skills and empathy. Now we're here four years

empathy. Now we're here four years later. You're a more experienced, more

later. You're a more experienced, more confident CMO because you've been in the war. What how does how do those

war. What how does how do those takeaways sound? Is that done today as

takeaways sound? Is that done today as CMO or or would you add a few things to that? Yeah, I think um progress has been

that? Yeah, I think um progress has been made um but there's still a lot to do.

Um you know, we were four years ago, we were just coming out of COVID. Um I

mean, I became CEO in 2021, so we were kind of still in the mess.

>> Um so I think um I think the empathy piece of it is still really important, but the context is a little bit different. um

because you know uh things have shifted so much and with the advent of AI there's a whole new complex sort of um algorithm that goes into that equation

um and as we transform marketing and as we're all talking about it here at ANA and just pretty much everywhere over the past year how AI is going to transform marketing or the use of AI will transform marketing and the discipline

empathy is going to be even more important because people are scared um and uh and there's lots of fear out there about what is is AI going to take my job? Is it going to replace my

my job? Is it going to replace my skills? So, empathy is going to be as we

skills? So, empathy is going to be as we go on this journey together and individually. Empathy is going to be

individually. Empathy is going to be continue to be really important. Um, and

it's not about like getting you out of your your locked down house and into back into society. Empathy.

or or empathy because you are locked down in your house and you have no contact with anybody to empathy about upskilling, job retraining um and and

showing the benefits and and integrating the benefits of AI into your workflows so that it seems more natural um and less um daunting. Um so I think that empathy still applies but in different

context.

>> Um >> accountability is still something really really important. I you know I think

really important. I you know I think we're still on that journey of of of convincing um the rest of the seauite how about the importance of of the

discipline um as a business driver um but we've made a lot of progress um and I think in some companies it's a lot easier because you know especially in like package goods and things like that

like the brand is the business right um if if if if tide loses its brand cache you know the business falls apart for example not that case in technology ology in some cases. So, still on that

journey, but a lot of progress has been made and uh I don't think we'd be able to do what we've been doing for the past 3 years if we hadn't built that credibility and if the company hadn't become believers

in in what we've done. Um we've made bold moves in the last three years. Um

uh you know the especially around partnerships um and our partnership with Manchester United was a bold move. I

would have put a 5% probability on that whole partnership actually coming to fruition when I first engaged with them on the topic. Um, and the fact that we pushed that boulder up the hill and got

over the finish line is a testament to progress um that we've made. Um, so

we've, you know, a lot of boldness has come into play since I started um that I didn't really know how it manifests itself at the beginning, but I knew we had to do something. I do want to talk

with you primarily today with with the rest of our time about sports. Actually,

you just took us there and I also do want to talk about AI because I heard you speak about AI at a meeting at Deote with CMOs a couple months ago and it was a it's a fabulously useful talk. So, I

want to go there. But first on sports, I mean, I've heard you say that it's become a very powerful platform to scale Snapdragon's awareness. And you said

Snapdragon's awareness. And you said Manchester United, but you're Formula 1 drive to survive the live golf tour. I

mean you're in a lot of places. So we

didn't talk about that four years ago.

>> That's true.

>> Right. And you said they really exist.

>> No. Right. Right. So I want you to go there. Why did you have that awakening?

there. Why did you have that awakening?

I mean sports is a major part of your platform and your brand now. So how did you come to that? How do you feel about it? Is it working for you? What could

it? Is it working for you? What could

others learn?

>> Sure. It all starts with how and where do we want to show up with the brand? um

and how do we attach ourselves um to to to people uh our audiences in a compelling way that's relevant to them.

Um so instead of just talking about technology for technology sake or speeds and feeds and specs and things like that and features and benefits um what we what Snapdragon really does is it

enables people to explore their passions um uh and and experience their passions in very compelling ways. Um, if we are inside your phone, you know, we make,

you know, your pictures look better, we make your music sound better, uh, we make your ability to watch your favorite team, um, in 8K in 8K better. And so, we really kind of create these experiences

that people sort of are manifesting themselves in their passions. And people

love art and they love photography and they love music and they love sports.

Um, and and that's where they find affinity in their lives. Um, and that's and that's where their passions lie. So,

we decided to attach ourselves and the brand to people's passions, sports being one of them. Um, I'm a big believer that people feel passionate about players and teams, not so much leagues. So, that's

where we've gone with our with our sports partnerships. Um, mostly at the

sports partnerships. Um, mostly at the team level, in the case of Bryson, at the at the player level, although he has a team, too, >> um, with the Crushers, but >> that's where we started in sports. We

wanted to uh align those um sports activities with where we saw business opportunity to build more brand affinity for Snapdragon with different audiences across sport.

>> It's working. I mean, it's still in the early days. I mean, how do you how do

early days. I mean, how do you how do you measure if it's effective? Is it

qualitative quantitative?

>> I'm going to share some data today. Um

our first year of being in the front of shirt partner with Manchester United.

>> I mean, again, I mentioned earlier, we knew this was a big deal. Um it is a it is a you know it's an it's it's a large investment on an annual basis and you know they they presented me with the

numbers you know and and that was part of the business case to getting it there. Um but then the results that

there. Um but then the results that we've seen after the first year have just blown my mind.

>> Wow.

>> Um I knew this was one of the most valuable pieces of real estate and sport. Um uh I didn't know how valuable

sport. Um uh I didn't know how valuable um until we we got the results after our our first year. Um, and this is with a team that isn't really doing very well

on the pitch. Um, but it doesn't almost doesn't matter because when you're when you're partnered with a brand like Manchester United, um, their brand ethos is so big. Um, they're a global sports

brand. They're arguably the largest

brand. They're arguably the largest global sports brand in the world. Um, by

so many different metrics, 1.1 billion fans around the world. Um, it's not just about Manchester, it's not about the UK, it's about the their brand affinity around the world and how what that can do for Snapdragon globally. So, it

brings us massive scale and reach for the brand. It allows us a massive

the brand. It allows us a massive storytelling platform uh to do amazing things and and create amazing content.

Um, and um, uh, I I mentioned on stage today that um, after season one, 9.5 billion impressions for Snapdragon, >> which is the AV equivalent of 182 Super Bowl ads.

>> Yeah.

>> In one season.

>> Wow.

>> With a team that ended up 12th in the pre. Um, pretty phenomenal. Um, uh,

pre. Um, pretty phenomenal. Um, uh,

upwards of almost a half a billion video views of our of the content that we've did with the with the club. Um, our

launch video with Eric Cantina was the most watched piece of Manchester United content for a front of shirt launch in history of the club.

>> What's driving it? It's how you're doing it too, right?

>> Well, it Yeah, I mean, it's it's it's the exec. It comes down to execution and

the exec. It comes down to execution and it comes down to the recipe I talk about in my in my um conversation today on stage is it's really about knowing your audience,

>> providing context, making it relevant, driving that resonance to action. Um,

and so, um, I'm I'll I've shared some stats on stage today as well about, you know, 85% of of of Manchester United fans are aware Snapdragon um, think it, you know, think it's an amazing

technology, provides premium performance, um, and um, and has genuine love for the brand. Um, that's that's critical. That's that's

critical. That's that's >> that's only after a year or two.

>> That's only after a year >> being short partner.

>> You set a tough benchmark.

>> Yeah, it's pretty amazing. So those KPIs and those stats um uh and the results that we've seen have been phenomenal and you know we're not stopping there. Um

we're always looking to to do other things. We've we've another another

things. We've we've another another thing that we've done is we've tried to drive innovation into our contracts. Um

you know there's these standardized or sponsorship kind of deals um that people do um and you know you you're basically exchanging money for assets. Um uh but we wanted to build some innovation into

the contract and and with with the cooperation and collaboration of the folks at Manchester United, we were able to do things like um once every season we can choose a cause of our choice and

and replace the Snapdragon logo with that causes brand >> um and and drive a whole storytelling platform around that. I talked about brand with purpose before. That's one

avenue and asset now that we have to tell to to to tell that part of the Snapdragon story. Um, so that's

Snapdragon story. Um, so that's phenomenal and I and I share the RED case study on stage today. Um, and the partnership with Red that we that we had this this season which was a huge

success. Um, we also have pastor rights.

success. Um, we also have pastor rights.

Um, you know, Snapdragon um, it it lives inside of so many amazing products from amazing brands and I have amazing brand partners. Um, and as part of the

partners. Um, and as part of the marketing mix, I market with them and alongside them and so I wanted to be able to bring them into our world. So I

have pass through rights in the product categories that I own. So, I can bring a Samsung in and on the smartphone side. I

can bring a Dell in on the PC side and we can storyt tell together and I can help them get more value >> um and attach them to themselves to this brand ethos that we're building between Manchester United and Snapdragon. That's

another piece of innovation that most sponsorship agreements do not include.

Um that has been super super productive for us um and providing more value to our partners which has been great.

>> Um so those are some of the things that we've done. And we've done that with

we've done. And we've done that with with with our partnership with Mercedes and Formula 1 uh which the advent of that was really about our growth in automotive um and uh and other things

that we've done. So it is working. We're

trying to drive innovation in it. We're

trying to look at things differently um and how we exploit these partnerships.

And then we also are very committed to making sure our technology is helping our partner as well. So it's helping Manchester United Football Club become a better Manchester United football club through the use of technology. It's

helping Mercedes, AMG, Formula 1 become a better team um through the use of our technology. Um and we think that's

technology. Um and we think that's really important. So, it's sort of a

really important. So, it's sort of a two-way partnership.

>> That's a fabulous story. I mean, you what is normally a transaction and a contract that is transactional, >> right, >> into a creative innovative partnership.

>> Yeah. And I'm we're always learning from others. I mean, I got to, you know, I

others. I mean, I got to, you know, I got to give credit where credit is due.

I think what Meta has done with WhatsApp and and and they're also a Mercedes partner, what they've done with their partnership with Mercedes, um is incredible. Uh and you know, with the

incredible. Uh and you know, with the storytelling platforms of of the the Netflix documentary on Kimmy Antelli and how he won the seat on, you know, driving the car down Fifth Avenue, New

York with Lewis and um that was really really amazing innovation and and and how they structured their relationship with Murice to be able to do that. um I

I I was a little envious of to be honest with you and and and and as we're looking at our um our continuation with the team, we're looking at building some of that into our our contractual uh partnership as well.

>> You talked about passions to align your brand with uh sports is a big one. You

tal you threw out some other ones. Is

there a second kind of area you think is really rich for you as a brand?

>> Music is really rich for us. We've done

a lot of things. We had a partnership with Live Nation. Uh we've done some things there. We have our Snapdragon

things there. We have our Snapdragon Sound Studio um uh series that we've done. Um we've done some things with

done. Um we've done some things with iHeart uh in the past. We haven't really nailed something that we um that we think is long term.

>> So, we're we're we're continuing to learn in that area, but we've brought music into our other partnerships. We

just did a collab with Manchester United and the artist Kleo um for the second season launch of the front shirt where um we happened to connect the dots

between Kleo who's an amazing band from Iceland um uh who's a huge Manchester United fan, the lead singer um and he's always wanted to perform at Old

Trafford. Um and so we brought that

Trafford. Um and so we brought that together with the front of shirt launch.

There is a song that United fans love.

Um it is a re uh rewarding of country roads. Um so he did a cover of that.

roads. Um so he did a cover of that.

Wow.

>> Um played it on the pitch in man in Old Trafford.

>> Very very good. Um and it was all shot on Snapdragon. Um and and then we

on Snapdragon. Um and and then we released that as part of that the second season. Um so we've we've kind of

season. Um so we've we've kind of intermixed things together. Um

>> we like to we like to cross-pollinate our partnerships. So um that was super

our partnerships. So um that was super compelling. So music definitely. And

compelling. So music definitely. And

then for with photography or videography or just the whole art of creation um that again devices that are powered by Snapdragon can bring a creator's um uh

sort of um ideation process to new another level and the the delivery to another level. Um we are actually um uh

another level. Um we are actually um uh launching Snapdragon Studios. So, we're

going to be producing original content um in partnership with uh Live Nation, Sony Pictures um and uh and we're going to uh give a give a go at a studio >> physical space.

>> Virtual and physical.

>> Virtual and physical. Yeah. Super. I was

with you I think in August. It was late August outside Dallas at Deoid's University. The training center you

University. The training center you made. It's a it's an academy they do for

made. It's a it's an academy they do for next generation CMOs. Great program. And

I heard you speak about your thought about AI in your organization in terms of skills, training, uh, putting it at the center of where you're going and it was a beautifully

told story, massively helpful for the audience. So I'd like you to we're a few

audience. So I'd like you to we're a few months later probably not glad.

>> Yeah. Yeah. But tell us a little bit about how you have thought about your organization with this, you know, unbelievable technology and you talked about the empathy skills have shifted. I

agree with that. It was a really wonderful story you told. So if you could just go how you're thinking about your organization setting it up the right design work structure for the future.

>> We've been going down this path that I think a lot of um marketing organizations and CMOs have been going down which is the introduction of AI tools. Um and so you have your existing

tools. Um and so you have your existing organization and and how it works and your existing workflows and then you have these AI tools and they were kind of almost sitting side by side and then you were trying to connect the dots

wherever possible. Oh, this tool is

wherever possible. Oh, this tool is great for copy development. We're going

to plug it in here. Oh, this tool is great for video editing. We're going to plug it in here. Um, and uh, we decided to take a pause on that for a second.

And again, after consulting with some of my CMO um, friends, uh, I was at a lunch with Jonathan Adashak from IBM. Um, I

was actually Ken Lion and, um, he was, we were chatting and he was like, I'm this is what I'm doing. I'm blowing up my organization. I'm putting AI at the

my organization. I'm putting AI at the center. um I'm building an a systems

center. um I'm building an a systems architecture and then I'm reorganizing my my my team around that.

>> I was like, "Wow, >> that's pretty cool."

>> Um I think I'm going to do that. So I

came back from that conversation and we started down a marketing evolution exercise path where we are working with partners and our internal team and we

are building a systems architecture where AI is not a set of tools that sit over here but there's a AI systems architecture that is a foundational layer um then building workflows on top

of that um and process on top of that and then people around that um and we call it um AI powered, humanled.

>> Um and so that's the that's the the tagline we came up with for the internal team >> to market it to my marketing team really. It's AI powered and humanled

really. It's AI powered and humanled >> and um we're in the middle of the process right now. We hope to roll out kind of phase one in January. Um but

it's a really new way of looking at this that we I feel will yield not only a better um incorporation and integration

of AI into the marketing discipline but it will eliminate a lot of the fear um because it will come with filling gaps, upskilling, training um and making sure

that AI is truly helpful in the process of marketing and not friction. driven

or or or friction creator um or creator friction. So that is how we're

friction. So that is how we're approaching it. Um and so far so good.

approaching it. Um and so far so good.

Um uh we are almost complete with the systems architecture piece. Um, and

that's also been a great exercise on its own because, you know, we've been trying tools, we've been experimenting with stuff, but we didn't have everything figured out. And we've been working with

figured out. And we've been working with a company called Proficient, and they've been helping us kind of fill in those those gaps uh with maybe the tools that we have are can be expanded upon or

maybe there's a new tool that we need or whatever to kind of fill in that that architecture. Um, and that's been going

architecture. Um, and that's been going well as, you know, you know, too in in combination with the other pieces of the puzzle.

But I have a great team who's working on it and I'm I'm excited about what the results are going to be.

>> I was very impressed when I heard you speak last night about the discipline and intentionality of the training and the inclusion of people and the phases of training. One is, you know, general

of training. One is, you know, general training on AI and then on some of the tools that are an important part of your future. Could you speak a bit about

future. Could you speak a bit about that?

>> Sure. Well, you know, we again real commitment to your people. It's a real commitment and obviously being a company that's in the business of AI um as well as trying to integrate AI um we had to

get on things pretty quickly and so we have an AI council at Qualcomm I'm I'm on that council where any new tool or any new AI kind of thought is kind of brought through the council um and vetted for you know safety and

enterprise readiness and >> all sorts of criteria and once it gets through right then we go into test and learn or eval and then scale. So it

starts there. So every Qualcomm employee has to go through AI training >> and that's primarily driven by legal >> um which is sort of the dos and don'ts and you know don't be dropping you know

IP and proprietary code into chat GBT um uh that's that's a no no um uh and uh and and so everyone has to start there >> um and then we have our individual tool

training um another good example is with writer uh writer is a tool that I've deployed broadly it's even now being deployed outside of marketing because people are seeing how valuable it across

the organization. The writer team has

the organization. The writer team has been phenomenal um on helping us train our people but also um make the most out

of their platform. Um we've we've we've created like 25 custom apps. Um uh we've now we are now moving into agents in their Gent platform and rolling that out

as sort of a first mover. We're saving

about 2,400 hours a month.

>> Wow.

>> By just deployment and use of the tool um kind of with our super users. Um, and

so, um, on top of the AI training, we sort of do this, um, um, super user FOMO type of thing where we we pick some key people, we get them using the tools,

they see how useful and helpful it is, they evangelize, and then people like, "Oh, I want that, too." Um, and that's how we build scale um, and adoption uh, throughout the organization um, in a in

a kind of natural way. Um,

>> and uh, it's worked so far. Um, and now we're going to again enter this bigger transformational phase of this. Um, and

that's where we'll we'll increase the upskilling piece of of the puzzle as well because there'll be things like brand governance which in the future based on this architecture 99% of it

will be done by AI, >> right? Um, and so if you've got multiple

>> right? Um, and so if you've got multiple people doing brand governance, you really need those people doing brand governance. Or do you need one person,

governance. Or do you need one person, you know, who spends a little bit of the time loading the rules into and updating those rules when they need to be updated, but then you can redeploy those other resources into other things. Um,

and so that's really where we're at today. Now, for the CMOs listening to

today. Now, for the CMOs listening to this or watching it, what's the biggest lesson if they want to do what you're doing and you were inspired by IBM, you're doing it, it seems to be going

well. What's the biggest lesson you

well. What's the biggest lesson you would share with them?

>> Make sure you know what your objective is. My objective and Jonathan's

is. My objective and Jonathan's objective were different. Um, I happen to be a severely underresourced marketing organization from a human capital perspective. So, I'm really

capital perspective. So, I'm really using this exercise to scale my capabilities. Um, I like to say the

capabilities. Um, I like to say the world moves at the speed of Tik Tok.

It's really hard to keep up. Um, I could add 500 people to my organization and still not be able to keep up.

>> So, for me, it's a scaling exercise. I

have to keep up with the pace of the business, our diversification, new things, and I'm not going to be able to grow my labor force um at the same rate as needed. So, AI is going to be a scale

as needed. So, AI is going to be a scale tool. In some cases, it it will be a

tool. In some cases, it it will be a tool to become more efficient. Um and in some marketing organizations where you know size is a problem or size has created slowness or bureaucracy

>> um you could your objectives might be different um so my my objective in Jonathan's although we're deploying the same philosophy >> are different yeah >> and that's okay so just understanding

your objective I think is number one how is this going to help you and your organization and and in my case it's really about scale um which is less scary um I'll admit um and so I think if

if The one takeaway is like start with a really solid objective going into it and then customize, you know, your process around that.

>> Your brand is 40 years old or your company is 40 years old this year. Are

you having a birthday cake? Are you

doing anything? Are you having a quiet birthday or are you allowing >> We did uh we did an appropriate um I think amount of celebration. We had in

New York in May, we had like a 40th um uh sort of anniversary celebration at NASDAQ >> and then we hosted some partners and

some media at a at a at a cocktail reception uh in Manhattan uh where we rolled out, you know, uh it was it was um 1985 when the company was founded. So

I keep I love that song, you know, by Bowling for Soup 1985. Um and so um so we basically showed technology from 85 >> and then technology today.

>> Um so it was a fun interactive experience. Um you know we had like

experience. Um you know we had like video games in 1985 versus video games today. We had computers and things like

today. We had computers and things like that. So it was it was interesting. Then

that. So it was it was interesting. Then

we um for the employee base we've had regional celebrations all over the world uh throughout the summer. And then we had a big celebration in San Diego in September um at Snapdragon Stadium um

where we invited the entire employee base to come and celebrate um the 40 years of history. We rolled out some cool new technology like we had a you know humanoid robot walking around and

we had a bunch of other stuff and then um Cristiano and we had our founder Win Jacobs come and and speak >> um who's 91 now and um it was just a

really fun time sense of pride for for everybody and and it's good to celebrate these things. Yeah.

these things. Yeah.

>> Um we didn't go crazy but uh but it was it was the right amount of celebration.

>> Last time we talked you said the first brand that made an impact on you as a young boy was Vans.

>> Yes. Do you stand by that?

>> I stand by that.

>> Is there another one >> as >> you're not wearing Vans? You moved to Adidas.

>> I'm an Audias, you know, of course with my partnerships with both Mercedes and Manchester United.

>> I have a lot of Audias uh now. Um and I think Adios is killing it. By the way, I think they're doing a fantastic job.

>> And a shout out to Chris Davis at New Balance because I think he's killing it.

>> I want to be Chris Davis when I grow up.

I'm a sneaker guy, so shoes have been always a part of my my brand ethos. uh

um maybe not just a young, you know, back in the day because it didn't exist back then, but uh a brand that is in my daily life that I literally could not exist without.

>> There you go.

>> Starbucks.

>> Yeah, Starbucks. Oh, wow. Same word.

>> Pretty much every day, no matter where I am in the world, um I will my ritual is I and I don't drink coffee, which is even the weirdest thing, right? Um I

thing, right? Um I >> They sell milk, by the Yeah, a little bit of coffee.

>> Um, uh, no, I I I drink I'm an ice cream tea guy. Um, I love their ice cream tea.

tea guy. Um, I love their ice cream tea.

Uh, so every day I start out with a massive ice cream tea. There's one over there. Um, and um, and that's my ritual.

there. Um, and um, and that's my ritual.

And yeah, I could go to a coffee bean or a a different place >> or pizza, but it it's not the same.

>> Yeah. So, you're a real brand fan. They

have a CEO who just had his one-y year anniversary, Brian Nickel. Yeah. who

came from Chipotle, his friend, XPNG guy. How do you think he's doing?

guy. How do you think he's doing?

>> Um, from what I can tell, I think he's making a lot of really really good positive decisions to move the the brand and the company in the right direction.

Um, you know, he's got different challenges obviously, right? He's got,

you know, a massive retail sales force and or or people force and >> all the challenges and opportunities that comes along with that. Um he's got stores he needs to complete, you know,

continue to to modernize and update and and keep up with trends and and consumer behavior and their and how people want to buy and consume things.

>> I think pulling back the menu a little bit and kind of creating more purposefulness to it, I think, is a good thing. Got a little wild. Yeah,

thing. Got a little wild. Yeah,

>> I think and and really confused the baristas and made it really complex and and I mean you have to balance that I can customize and create, you know, the pink drink or whatever with okay, you

know, there's it's getting out of control. Um, and I think he's he's found

control. Um, and I think he's he's found the right balance there. Um uh and and it sound if you look at the results and you look at some of the recent press

I've read and and some of the interviews I've I've listened to of him um it sounds like he's um applying a really good recipe for success.

>> Good playbook. Yeah.

>> Yeah. A good playbook.

>> It was interesting. I think their stories changed quick shortly after he became CEO. The content they put out was

became CEO. The content they put out was more about >> who they are.

>> Yeah. They went back to their roots.

>> They did. Yeah.

>> Right. I mean

>> almost a rallying cry internally I think.

>> Yeah. And which I think doing that like going back to your you know to the heart and soul of who you are. Um by the way that's before you even start to deploy

audience metrics and and and context and relevance. You have to know who you are

relevance. You have to know who you are as a brand. Yeah.

>> Um um and when things start to go ary when you start to deviate from that. And

we've seen that recently >> in a couple of examples that we all that we all can probably articulate >> where things just go south really fast.

By the way, um it's never been more important to know who you are.

>> Mark Pritchard, my successor, CMO at PNG, has been there a long time. He was

chairman of the ANA. There was a switch that was announced yesterday. That was

his talk yesterday. He went through several PNG brands back to its roots, back to its core. Showed some of the original ads. Wow.

original ads. Wow.

>> And how obviously times change, but they stayed true to the spirit.

>> Yeah.

>> Of of the founder and founding of the brand.

>> Yeah, for sure. It's challenging as you like even with us as Snapdragon peers in more product categories, >> right? How do you stay true to that

>> right? How do you stay true to that brand ethos, but put it in the context of that product category?

>> Um, and it's it's a challenge. I mean,

it's it's not necessarily easy all the time.

>> Um, but it's also not unachievable, right, if you're disciplined. Um, uh,

and it's easy to be distracted. It

really is in this world. It's really

easy to get distracted. And sometimes

people want to pull you in a direction and you have to say no, right? Um um and it's not as easy as it sounds.

>> You live in San Diego. What's your

favorite hack in San Diego?

>> Favorite hack in San Diego >> or your favorite place to be? Your

>> My favorite place to be is El Pblo.

>> Okay. Taco Shop.

>> Okay, good.

>> You know, it's my favorite um my favorite Mexican food place in San Diego. Favorite activity outdoors?

Diego. Favorite activity outdoors?

>> Oh, favorite activity outdoors. Um, you

know, I love going to the beach. Um,

being in the water.

>> Um, usually go to 21st Street in Delmare.

>> Mhm.

>> Yeah, that's that's just since I was a kid because I grew up in Salana Beach.

So, >> you know, um, sweet.

>> I'm a I'm a I'm a local.

>> Um, >> uh, that's uh that's kind of my favorite. I just love touching down.

favorite. I just love touching down.

>> I mean, I travel a lot for work. I but I always love touching down in San Diego and walking out of the the terminal and just >> exhaling.

>> It's a good feeling. Yeah,

>> it's a good feeling.

>> Internal one's open now.

>> That's right.

>> Right. Finally.

>> Therefore, it's less of a nightmare.

>> Yeah. So, we're here at the ANA. Bob

Leudes is the CEO. He always ends every on stage. You'll you'll experience this

on stage. You'll you'll experience this today. When you're finished, he gets on

today. When you're finished, he gets on stage, ask you a few questions, but his last question is, what's your advice to the audience to do when they return to work? So, I want to kind of ask that of

work? So, I want to kind of ask that of you here in this small setting. I mean,

you're an amazing CMO, and I'm not just saying that. I think what this

saying that. I think what this discussion has been rich, you're you're more confident than when I talked to you four years ago. You're you're having fun.

>> Have some battle scars.

>> Yeah. But I mean, I think you're really thriving in this role. So, I think it your uh answer to that question, I think, is an interesting one for our audience. So, as you think about all of

audience. So, as you think about all of your experiences since you've been CMO, uh, what we talked about today, what's one thing you'd love the audience to think about, ponder, consider adapting

from what we've just talked about?

>> I would say don't panic and just take things one step at a time.

It's easy to panic. Um, but, um, you know, we're not curing cancer.

I wish we were.

>> Yeah.

>> Um, I mean, our technology can do a lot.

Um but um but you know just take things one step at a time. It's gonna be okay.

>> I love it. Don, thank you and all the best on the big stage today.

>> Thank you very much. Thanks for having me again.

>> I'll try to be there >> and cheer you on.

>> I appreciate that.

>> We'll see if I'm recording a show or not, but if I'm not, I'll be there.

Right. Thanks. So, thanks. It's a real gift. Thank you. Appreciate it.

gift. Thank you. Appreciate it.