Episode 037: Mark Zablow

Introduction:

Today we are fortunate enough to have with us marketing and social media guru to the stars, Mark Zablow. Mark is the founder and CEO of Cogent Entertainment Marketing, a leading influencer and experiential marketing agency that was voted #2 in Ad Age’s Best Places to Work in 2019. Mark and the talented and innovative Cogent team work with such companies as Corona, Snapple, Pepsi, Best Buy, DIRECTV, and AT&T.

 

Episode Notes: 

At 1:50, Mark Zablow touches upon the real value of influence, building trust, and authenticity by association. At 4:00, Mark discusses work ethic, “hustling like an intern,” taking calculated risks, and imagination. At 6:05, Zablow believes that the ability to improvise on your feet is key in the business world. At 7:36, he notes that as the world speeds up, history starts to fall part, while also mentioning the importance of teaching history. At 9:44, Zablow shares a story of the Memory Motel in Montauk, and hitting rock bottom early on in his career. At 12:27, he talks about Cogent’s culture, and managing and leading with empathy. At 14:52, Mark dives into recruiting and retaining talent, the ability to control the experience team members have in their journey at Cogent, and Cogent Palooza. At 18:11, Zablow stresses the importance of being able to communicate with the younger generations and the need “to be 21 years old every day.” At 21:17, he defines Cogent as a nontraditional agency that is an extension of himself (as everything he has done since birth has been unconventional), while noting that being normal is boring. At 24:19, Zablow turns the table and asks Larry Haber his thoughts on an interviewee sending a follow up email post job interview. At 28:04, Larry Haber shares a story from a 1990’s Columbia University graduation ceremony he attended for a former employee where actor Brian Dennehy gave the commencement speech. At 29:56, Mark speaks about leveraging the “gig” and influencer economy, and the younger generations spending in micro-buckets. At 32:03, Zablow dishes on the great conversations he has had with Uber drivers. At 36:05, he relates a few of Eddie Murphy’s lines from his favorite movie “The Distinguished Gentleman” to that of what Cogent does. At 39:23, Mark touches upon being a pawn in the game of life, and the need not to “reinvent the wheel.” At 41:50, Zablow shares a classic line preached at Cogent in that, “we don't have problems, we have challenges.” At 43:20, he talks about his wife being the reason he is able to continue to stay focused and see the big picture in certain situations. At 47:48, Mark speaks to being more receptive to feedback from those he works with compared to early on in his career, and why one must keep people close that aren't afraid to confront you. At 49:52, Zablow explains why he did not have the balance early on his career, and how that changed once he got married and had a kid. At 52:30, he dives into getting his ya-ya's out when he is surrounded by close friends and family and during rare situations where “responsibility drops.” At 57:01, Mark Zablow closes out the podcast by discussing imagination being the secret to life, happiness, and success, along with how his parents helped make the impossible happen.