ADT’s EVP and CMO DeLu Jackson joins The Current Podcast to discuss how the company’s partnership with Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins reinforces the impact of live sports. Jackson also touches on why the marketing funnel isn’t so much a funnel anymore as it is an “infinity loop.”

Episode Transcript

Please note, this transcript  may contain minor inconsistencies compared to the episode audio.

[00:00:00 ] Damian: I'm Damian Fowler.

[00:00:02 ] Ilyse: And I'm Ilyse Liffering. And

[00:00:03 ] Damian: welcome to this edition of The Current Podcast. 

[00:00:06 ] Ilyse: This week, we're delighted to talk with DeLu Jackson, EVP and CMO of ADT. [00:00:12 ] Damian: The home security's brand synonymous with its blue octagon logo, seen on front lawns and in windows across the United States, is turning 150 years old this August.

[00:00:28 ] In all those years, ADT has seen its customers needs fluctuate, technology has given more power to individuals, and the inconsistent housing market is turning out more renters than owners.

[00:00:40 ] Damian: Delu starts out by telling us what messaging the brand is leaning into as it reaches a new milestone 

[00:00:49 ] Ilyse: DeLu, ADT is celebrating its 150th birthday in August. That little blue hexagon basically has been known for a long time and signs in front of front [00:01:00 ] yards and windows across America.

[00:01:02 ] How has the brand continued to evolve and how is the brand leaning into new messaging?

[00:01:15 ] DeLu: you know, monumental 150th birthday. And for us, that's a really great testament as much to all the things we've accomplished in that 150 years. But more importantly, what it means for the next 150 years, because all of that's been driven by a consistent commitment to innovation, insecurity, safety and now even smart home.

[00:01:38 ] So it's been the evolution of the definition of what it means to be safe, protected and connected. and for all of our history, we've been focused on making sure that we're the leader and providing that to our, customers. 

[00:01:54 ] Ilyse: and I understand there's even like a new campaign coming out soon? 

[00:01:57 ] DeLu: Oh, yeah. So part of this [00:02:00 ] innovation and this even history of it is recognizing that from our consumers always that, every second counts, right? That when we think about what we're doing, there's this tension between, living your life to the fullest

[00:02:14 ] and having the opportunity to travel and do amazing things because the things that you care about are protected.

[00:02:21 ] And so this idea that when every second counts, you can count on ADT and really always have is really exciting for us,

[00:02:29 ] internally And externally. 

[00:02:31 ] It's such a Great manifestation of what we've always been and what we aspire to provide, going forward. 

[00:02:40 ] Ilyse: On that note, I remember even like five years ago I wrote a piece for Ad Age about how the brand underwent a marketing transformation to drive the message home that ADT is much more than a home security provider. With your smart home integration and your mobile security options for small and large businesses.[00:03:00 ]

[00:03:00 ] How has that, moved the needle forward. 

[00:03:02 ] What would you say is the perception of the brand today? 

[00:03:05 ] DeLu: say the perceptions continue to evolve and I'd say that the one great thing is that the foundational relevance of safety and security are still  super high for so many consumers. It's what they need. And as the space has evolved to  be more smart home and connected devices and, video and cameras, we've continued to provide that and customers are programming and our messaging have continued to reinforce that. with partnerships and with our continued platform innovation to provide those capabilities. So it's been a big part of our continued innovation and commitment to innovation for safety and security. 

[00:03:46 ] Damian: One of the things that's really interesting to me is your approach to ads in the campaigns that you launch. and I know that in 2023 switched from sort of more fearful or scary approach to a humorous [00:04:00 ] one. And I'm just wondering, you mentioned that tension between living your life to the fullest and also looking after things that matter.

[00:04:06 ] Could you talk a little bit about that tension and how it informs 

[00:04:10 ] your

[00:04:10 ] campaigns. 

[00:04:11 ] DeLu: I think it's really a really important one that we called the FUD or fear, uncertainty and doubt. And the YOLO, you only live once, and that's always been the tension that we see that the things that we protect customers from versus the things we protect them for. And we saw the insight that, That people really, lean into and get emotional about the things we protect them for.

[00:04:40 ] And it really shows the value we create 

[00:04:42 ] when we demonstrate that, and we don't have to scare people to do that. We just need to demonstrate that we are really 

[00:04:49 ] there to take care of those things. And if we're there and in place taking care of those

[00:04:53 ] things, then you can do some amazing things and live your life to the fullest.

[00:04:57 ] And that's really, what our customers,[00:05:00 ] celebrate. And that's really 

[00:05:01 ] neat for us to know that we play a critical role

[00:05:04 ] Damian: That's, that's fascinating. And do you have any sort of specific examples of how, customers have shared those things that ADT has afforded them, insight into their best lives 

[00:05:17 ] as it were.

[00:05:18 ] DeLu: Oh, really fascinating is, 

[00:05:21 ] one of our big partners, looked on, just did web search and we looked at all of these great images of what people were doing with our signs in the background. So celebrating birthdays, celebrating my, first new business as an 

[00:05:36 ] entrepreneur, Celebrating graduations.

[00:05:40 ] we had a video of a customer putting an alligator in a trash can in his front yard.

[00:05:45 ] And that sign is there. 

[00:05:47 ] Sometimes it's in the background, sometimes it's in the forefront. But it's, been a part of all these big moments. and that's really interesting because it's just there and alive, out in the world every[00:06:00 ]

[00:06:00 ] Damian: Yeah. It's amazing. The power of that logo, actually, it's not something As prominent as, say, the Golden Arches. and at the same time, when you. think about it, it is ubiquitous. you see it everywhere, once you start 

[00:06:11 ] noticing it. 

[00:06:13 ] DeLu: like you said, if you go through neighborhoods and you start to really pay attention to it, you see how many places it's there, on a window, in a yard, on a business. 

[00:06:23 ] it is so iconic, and so 

[00:06:26 ] ever present.

[00:06:27 ] Damian: Eilidh just mentioned that five years ago she was writing about ADT. And one thing that just occurred to me when she said that is in the last five years we've seen tech, undergo especially ad tech, undergo a kind of boom. And I'm interested to know how that has influenced the way you

[00:06:44 ] approach your marketing,

[00:06:47 ] DeLu: it really speaks to the omni channel nature of marketing. It's not one or the other, where our sales motion historically had been,

[00:06:57 ] very much in the home,

[00:06:59 ] [00:07:00 ] physical interactions and interactions with customers. The digital capabilities in terms of information presentation, information gathering, research, And even purchasing online and being able to buy online and even install it yourself.

[00:07:15 ] All of that has transformed,

[00:07:18 ] consumers engage with us even purchase. So we're present in all those channels now and make sure that we provide the right information based on the context of those channels. So it's been exciting, in terms of the different ways to reach consumers and connect with, their, evolving needs for safety

[00:07:41 ] Ilyse: Speaking about your marketing, ADT has shifted from having an in house agency to now going back to an external partner. What basically inspired that shift back? 

[00:07:54 ] DeLu: Yeah, I'd say it's an evolution, right? So a few years ago had an opportunity to [00:08:00 ] hire a lot of great talent and bring them in house.

[00:08:03 ] of build internal capabilities time we're really, leading capabilities as that continued to involve and partners start to bring new ideas. We started to add them to the roster

[00:08:14 ] and for initiatives and projects. And as we move forward, they start to 

[00:08:18 ] bring bigger ideas and just through evolution and growth, our teams have added more of those back to our roster and expanded the team size. So now when you look up. it's more of an evolution than a revolution. We look up and we have a great internal team that drives certain capabilities. And then we've supplemented that With some leading partners just so that we can continue to innovate and deliver, on our customer expectations. 

[00:08:43 ] Ilyse: That is interesting. are there any specific channels that you perhaps are just increasing spend and time and effort on?

[00:08:54 ] DeLu: Yeah, probably the one that's growing most is connected TV and streaming, you know, as more people go there, [00:09:00 ] but social is inc