Nominator: Alan Brown
I’d like to nominate Rod Brooks, who retired this year after nearly 19 years at VP/chief marketing Officer from PEMCO Insurance. I can’t think of another marketer who has made a more significant impact on our community and to marketing than Rod.
Under Rod’s leadership at PEMCO, (and putting his neck on the line by taking a fair amount of risk with a conservative employer), he put PEMCO on the local map as not only the most preferred insurance brand in the Northwest, but also as one of the most talked about brands in any category in our market. And Rod not only helped elevate PEMCO’s brand and grow its business, he created a brand that attracted new talent to the organization.
PEMCO’s “We’re A Lot Like You” campaign will go down as one of the most memorable and beloved in Seattle advertising history. Beyond PEMCO, Rod gave his time and talent to others freely—whether it was endless hours with DECA students, advising the Edward R. Murrow College at Washington State University or rising to become president of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA).
And Rod has been widely recognized for his contributions—having received the Award of Merit in 2009 from DECA, the first-ever Cougar Spirit of Education Award from the College of Education at WSU and a 2014 Forbes Magazine listing as the Most Influential CMO on Social Media. He also has received the Marketing Legend Award from the Puget Sound Chapter of the AMA, was inducted into the WOMMA Hall of Fame and is a member of the pantheon of MARKETING IMMORTALS.
Not content to sit idle in retirement (as if that were possible), Rod has launched the Grandpa Project, a website with the mission to “inform, inspire, celebrate and serve the special relationship between a grandpa and his grandchildren.” It is off to a rousing start with a long list of participants at www.thegrandpaproject.com.
Rod is the very definition of a marketing leader and deserves to be named the MARKETING Marcomm Person of the Year for 2017.
Also see Brook’s bio at www.marketingimmortals.com, in the Corporate/Client section.