Business
C3 Metrics' CEO Greg Collins knows: How to listen, build trust and set expectations. As the newly appointed CEO at C3 Metrics, Collins leads a team recently granted MRC Accreditation for Viewability and is now on track to be the first company granted attribution accreditation. Hear how he sees the market growing and why he made the move to attribution. Guest bio: Greg Collins joined as CEO in 2019 to accelerate growth, and scale C3’s software as a service business model. Greg’s 25-plus-year career in enterprise software & marketing services spans Price Waterhouse, DataSource, Open Secure Access, and Reynolds & Reynolds. His functional experience encompasses enterprise-level service delivery, planning, and complex corporate development. He’s developed and grown SaaS businesses from ideation through accelerated growth, external financing, servicing and selling to the world’s largest enterprises. Most recently, Collins led strategy consulting at Cape Fear Advisors and has completed and integrated more than 70 M&A transactions throughout his career. He received his BA in Economics from Williams College and his MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School. Key takeaways: [1:26] I introduce today’s guest, Greg Collins, and invite him to walk us through his career, from business school to consulting to M&A to auto to analytics. [2:50] Right before the Internet took off, Greg was working at Reynolds & Reynolds. He shares what his responsibilities were and what he does today. [4:35] With the vast experience he has accumulated, Greg chances a guess at what the landscape of modern auto dealership could look like in 10 years. [7:36] Automotive was one of the first industries to take advantage of digital marketing. Greg explains the very good reasons why the adoption was so rapid as well as why they make such responsive clients! [12:01] Aside from automotive, Greg speaks to other well-suited industries to sell analytics to, including financial services and health care. He also shares how he was first exposed to attribution and multi-touch. [15:32] Greg gives some advice for buyers to build trust in their service providers when it comes to choosing a media-mix and using attribution. [17:21] Is more data always better? Greg weighs in and also touches on how to set expectations when deploying an attribution system. [23:05] The future of attribution is huge and closer than we expect. Greg touches on the growth and the challenges we can expect. [26:21] Greg shares something that he knows that no one else knows: the more he learns, the more he realizes he doesn’t know much about anything; it’s important to just listen. [27:19] I thank Greg for coming on the podcast and sharing so much of his experience. Be sure to tune in for the next episode and thanks for listening! Connect with our guest: Greg Collins at C3 Metrics About your host: Jeff Greenfield is the Co-Founder and Chief Attribution Officer of C3 Metrics. As the chief architect of the platform, Greenfield worked directly with the former CEO and Chairmen of Nielsen to solve advertising’s attribution problem. Greenfield’s history of technology and marketing initiatives has served blue-chip clients including GlaxoSmithKline, Kimberly-Clark, Sony BMG, Black & Decker, Forest Labs, Plum Creek, and more. Prior to co-founding C3 Metrics, Greenfield was a recognized thought leader in the area of Branded Content as the publisher of Branded Entertainment Monthly, a joint effort with VNU Media, detailing industry statistics, gaps, and trends. He’s been a featured speaker at NAPTE, The Next Big Idea, and a news source in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, ABC, CBS, CNET, and Investor’s Business Daily. Greenfield studied Biochemistry at the University of Maryland, holds dual degrees from Southern California University of Health Sciences and is an instrument-rated pilot. Jeff Greenfield at C3 metrics Jeff Greenfield on LinkedIn Jeff Greenfield on Twitter