Longtime marketing executive Seth Matlins has a new podcast, called Create or Destroy: Reimagining Marketing, created in partnership with Vox Media and its podcast network.
The show is produced in partnership with Matlins’ new venture, The Wisdomous Company. It will feature conversations with CMOs, CEOs, founders, and other cultural figures, including Gary Vaynerchuk, LVMH brand advisor Mathilde Delhoume, and political strategist David Axelrod, among others.
The premise, according to Matlins, is that marketing has been miscast as a tactical function rather than a core driver of enterprise value. Prior to founding the Wisdomous Company, Matlins served as the managing director of the Forbes CMO Network, the first global CMO at Live Nation, and president of Rock the Vote.
“What many enterprises don’t realize is that every decision they make is inescapably tied to value creation or destruction—there is no neutral,” Matlins said. “More businesses need to understand that marketing is a mindset, not a function.”
The launch arrives at a delicate moment for Vox Media. The company is currently fielding competing offers for the Vox Media Podcast Network, one of the most profitable and fastest-growing pieces of its portfolio. James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems submitted a bid earlier this month at $300 million or more for both the podcast network and New York Magazine, joining Versant, the Comcast cable spinoff, which had been the frontrunner.
In an interview, Matlins said the decision to partner with Vox Media went beyond the network itself, citing his relationships with CEO Jim Bankoff and senior vice president and general manager of podcasts Ray Chao.
