Amy Kennedy Joins ModSquad as Chief Marketing Officer

As we continue to grow at ModSquad, we’re thrilled to announce the latest addition to our executive team: Chief Marketing Officer Amy Kennedy. A 20-year marketing veteran, Amy comes from an extensive background of working with major retail and ecommerce brands, including Old Navy, Gap, Ebates, and Wine.com. Our clients and partners know all about the valuable services ModSquad provides, and Amy’s marketing expertise will help us expand that awareness globally.

We’re looking forward to having Amy leading ModSquad’s marketing initiatives, so we sat down with her to chat about what she envisions for the future of the company. Have your own question for Amy? Leave it in the comments!

Q: Welcome to ModSquad! Tell us, in true leader fashion, what are your plans for your first 100 days?

A: Well I am fortunate that I was able to get a taste of the ModSquad business as Interim CMO starting January 1, 2017. I came on to work on some key projects, including our exhibit at SXSW 2017. As I join full time, I’ve already met and worked with team, learned about our client base and gotten a good sense of the elements of marketing employed. With a solid sense of the opportunities, my goal in the first 100 days is to build out more marketing programs to drive awareness of our business, partner closely with the Sales team to meet or exceed our business goals and further evangelize the ModSquad brand globally.

Q: You had built a very successful business on your own, so what was it about ModSquad that got you to leave it and join us?

A: There’s a lot about ModSquad that piqued my interest. The team has built a highly successful business over the last 10 years. I’m excited to drive that further with new marketing strategies. I also fell in the love with the team. Everyone is hardworking, smart and dedicated. There is also a great Mod culture, with an active community of Mods around the world with diverse backgrounds and interests. Lastly, I really enjoy remote work. I wasn’t sure how I would like it, as my entire career has been in-office work, but I’ve come to learn and appreciate the norms of remote working.

Q: What excites you most about ModSquad?

A: I’ve never worked in a business that is industry agnostic, meaning we can serve a ecommerce business as well as we can serve a government entity or an app-based game publisher. If there is an audience to engage and support, we can make that happen.

Q: How do you see your experience as CMO of large retail brands translating to our service-based business?

A: I have been on the other end of countless vendor calls, emails and outreach, so I know the approach that helped break through to me as a decision maker for marketing and customer service. I’m also looking forward to lending my deep ecommerce and retail know-how to further build the business.

Q: When you worked as the CMO for Wine.com, you actually managed a traditional call center as part of your duties. What are your thoughts on our ModSourcing approach?

A: I think ModSourcing brings several unique elements to the table. First, from a financial perspective, our on-demand model enables clients to pay for exactly the help they need versus paying for blocks of hours they may or may not use. Second, our Mods are our clients’ customers. We find Mods passionate about a client’s business or brand. The Mods come to their engagements with first-hand insight and a knowledge of the business that is just hard to train someone on. Last, the model is flexible allowing a client to engage ModSquad to essentially be their team for a certain function or to assist and augment an existing team. I wish I knew about ModSquad when we scaled the call center for holiday peak demand!

Q: What do you think about the Mods?

A: The Mods are a unique, diverse and talented group of people that I am proud to work with. Our Mod model allows us to tap into talent across the globe, enabling us to find the intersection of expertise, geography, language, time zone that fits each client engagement. The Mods have freedom and flexibility to make their own schedules and lend their expert knowledge to businesses they have a natural interest in. It’s win-win.

Q: Attending GDC/VRDC and SXSW with us, you got to know many of our clients. How do you see your role as CMO helping to fortify those existing relationships?

A: We have an amazing roster of clients, many with very long-standing relationships. I see us fortifying those relationships not only by keeping up our top notch service, but also by staying on top of the trends and partner products in the market, and sharing that knowledge with them.

Q: What’s your perspective on digital marketing and the most effective platforms today?

A: I think of marketing programs as a target. There are digital programs that are in the bullseye, where you know clearly what kind of return you will get on your investment. As you move out to programs in the next sets of rings, the exact ROI becomes less precise, but their role is clear in raising awareness and engaging your audience. Social media, for instance, has great audience and engagement metrics to measure performance.

I think the most successful brands are those that make themselves ubiquitous. You keep bumping into them – social media, digital ads, a podcast ad, outdoor – which makes you stop and take a good look at what they have to offer.

Q: Besides making ModSquad a household name, are there other passions and interests that benefit from your talents?

A: Outside of work, you will likely find me on the sidelines of a soccer field, basketball court, or dance studio with my husband and two girls, ages 9 and 6. I also spend time in Sonoma, CA and do a little garage winemaking with some Carneros Syrah grapes we have. First vintage is yet to be bottled, so we’ll see if there’s a future there!

Q: Name a person, dead or live, who you would love to have as a dinner guest. Why?

A: I would love to have dinner with Keith Haring. I wrote my college thesis on Keith Haring and the democratization of art. He took “high art,” normally found in stuffy art galleries, and brought it to the New York City subways and streets for all to enjoy. His signature radiant baby and barking dog were icons in the ‘80s that the people of NYC would wait to see where they popped up next.

Q: Final question: as the former CMO of Wine.com, what would be your choice of wine to serve to your special dinner guest?

A: While I am a huge fan of bubbly, with Nicolas Feuillatte Brut as my favorite, I would serve Landmark Vineyards Pinot Noir. It’s a Sonoma County wine and definitely worth a taste.