¶ Celebrating 100 Years
Hello everybody , welcome to On the Move , a show where we share transportation , sales and marketing success stories . I'm Jennifer Karpus-Romain , Executive Director at TMSA , a trade nonprofit educating and connecting marketing and sales professionals in transportation and logistics , and today on the show we have Candi Cybator , who is Director of Marketing at PITT OHIO .
Welcome to the show , Candi .
Well , thank you , Jen . I'm very happy and excited to be here , Excited to talk to you . Have this conversation on the move ? Yes , on the move .
So we recently saw each other at the TMSA Elevate Conference a few weeks ago where TMSA celebrated its 100-year anniversary , and when we decided to do a task force for the 100 years , I'm like I know immediately who I'm going to to kind of lead that task force , somebody who's been a part of TMSA for such a long time but has the energy of any more energy
than anyone I know , and that was you . So when celebrating this big anniversary , what were some of the things that you considered for this milestone that maybe could help other people that are celebrating like a work , celebration or milestone like that ?
Well , first of all , I was very honored to be chosen to lead the task force , the 100-year task force because I feel that I mean it's a monumental 100 years is monumental for any organization , let alone a nonprofit like this , especially in an industry like ours , that it can be very .
You know , there's a lot of factors , economic factors that can hinder various organizations , and so I guess , with anything like when you're taking a look at a hundred years and you're taking a look at that time span , the main thing I really considered was kind of like where did we all start ?
I think it's like so important to kind of understand the foundation and the history of something , of anything really , and then kind of how that history sort of shapes itself and molds itself right into where you are today .
But kind of understanding where you came from is really important , and I think that that was important for us to start to share and to educate those people you know , including myself .
There were things I found out that I didn't know as well as we were , as we were doing this , about where we started and how , the evolution of it , and I really think that if you're not constantly evolving , you're not growing right .
So I think it's important that we had that evolution and we saw that and I think that that's important , not only personally or professionally , whether you're an organization or an individual like that constant evolution and growth . But having that understanding , I think it's important to kind of take and shape that next direction .
And then , you know , it also helped to have Denny Grim , a 50-year committee member , you know , on the task force who really did help us like kind of understand that beginning part and then figuring out , okay , what are the significant ways we want to celebrate .
That wasn't too overwhelming when it came to someone who might be brand new or someone who has been there for a while , and not to like bog down a bunch of facts that may not be relevant anymore . So it's trying to pick out those pieces of what was the most relevant .
So I think that's the most important thing is trying to kind of narrow it down and figure out those key , those key components to what your story is .
Absolutely , and I did hear feedback of people being like . We loved even newer people to the organization . Like , we did love hearing the history and where things started , because TMSA started as like a railroad advertising group of men . There was a lot of reports that said like men group , which I think is just funny .
But I love seeing that evolution both from just talking about railroads , just talking about advertising , and then the evolution of like who our membership base is and um , we kind of at the beginning of the show we walked through all the name changes and how it became more inclusive to different modes of transport and how we continue to evolve and I got really
great feedback on that . Like people are like we . We keep hearing you know it's tmsa's 100 years , but like , what does that actually look like ? And when we say tmsa , it's like no , tmsa , the transportation marketing and sales association . That name came about in 2011 but the the group that became us and evolved into us started 100 years ago .
So we were able to kind of take people through that , which was really cool yeah , and I mean it's just a reflection really of how the industry has changed , right .
So like when you take a look at transportation in general and you take a look at the industry and like just even the different companies and people that partake within the organization , from direct carriers to 3PLs , to you know software providers , all different , you know different partners that we have now , affiliates that we have , and so forth I think that that's
important to kind of see that as well . So it's you know , and it's marketing and sales , and like where is that ?
Where are we going to go next Really , as we start to take a look at where that next step is going to be for us in the future , as we evolve more with our organization and what the need is that we can help meet for professionals like us in in this space ?
absolutely . I did just pop up the qr code in the corner up . Here . Am I pointing the right direction for our centurion collection ? So if , as we're talking about the celebration , as we're talking about tmsa , if you are interested in learning more , you can find our timeline there .
If you have been a part of TMSA and want to contribute either to our virtual donor wall for 100 years or a quick video talking about your experience , all of that can be found in that Century Collection and we will also put that link in the show notes if you're listening to this audio only . But anyways , back to you , candy .
So one of the things that we did was we wanted a couple people to take the stage and talk about their experience at TMSA and what kind of sets this organization apart .
That was a little bit different and I remember on our planning call I was like it was me and you and Jodi Cape , who is secretary of the board of directors , and I said I'm going to tell you guys this now that I think that you guys should do a session together and you're both going to be like no , but I'm going to tell you why .
And it's because the friendship and how that has shaped , both personally and professionally your lives and being able to watch these like really lifelong bonds that have happened was a really cool story , so I am going to show people that are watching a quick little photo of it and you guys were so cute and adorable and I loved it .
But tell us what that experience was like , both kind of finding this person that you found in Jodi , but also then being able to tell that story on stage the friendships that you make within this organization , within TMSA , and the camaraderie that really the whole organization everyone has with one another is so special and so unique .
And it's really hard to kind of explain that on a website or you know , the only way to do that is really with storytelling , right , it's kind of telling people the story of like how it happened and the uniqueness and what makes it so fabulous .
But as you , as you know , every Lucy has its Ethel , every Laverne has its Shirley , every Thelma has its Louise and like I have Jodi and Jodi has me . So we kind of tease each other , we say Kiki and Jojo , so that's kind of our little nickname for each other . So every Kiki and Jojo story that's out there .
But anyway , so I've been in the industry longer than
¶ Building Relationships in TMSA
Jodi has been . So when I first like rejoined TMSA about however long , maybe , probably 12 years ago now you know we started to strike up a friendship . You know mentorship , talk to each other , ask each other . We weren't necessarily competitors in the industry .
She did something different than like what my company does , but it was really great because she could come to me and I would help her with like questions on a professional level .
And then you know , I would go to her with stuff , or I and I still go to her with stuff , or she'll come to me with stuff on a professional level as well , and we bounce stuff off each other all the time and but then the relationship grew deeper , into more of a friendship and more of this bond .
We'd like to do a lot of the same stuff we , you know we just had fun together and we love to laugh and you know , we love to have a good time along with learning at the same time . And I think you know I got to know her , I got to know her family , I got to know her girls .
So , like to me , that was , like you know , we've just grown into this .
You know , great friendship and great bond and being able to share that on stage and kind of show people that , like you know what it's about and what this TMSA organization does , was just even like so special and I'm very honored to do so as well and to share the stage with her , because she's a fabulous person and you know .
So I could go on and on about it , but it was really , it was really great and I feel like every there's so many friends that I have within the organization , professionally and personally so , and Jodi's just one of those special ones .
That's I remember after . So we're going to talk here . Segwaying into that , you were actually the fourth person ever to receive a TMSA Lifetime Achievement Award , which was really special , and then which I will show that now that we're talking and then shortly after that , we gave David Hoppins one as well , for both of your commitments to the organization .
But there was a moment after you guys got those awards and I was like you and Jodi and Beth Malick and Mark Dirks I think Tom Collins is there and you guys were all just holding each other and it was so lovely and I found the photographer . I'm like I don't really know what's going on over there , but please capture every second of it .
And so we have all these beautiful photos , because to me that is part of the story of TMSA is like we are here together , we're learning about each other , we're helping each other in our business but also in this community of TMSA and being able to ebb and flow with the industry and meet the needs of the members and conference attendees and like everyone coming
together to do that . So it was really special all around to be able to do that and I was really honored to be able to present those awards , and I did . We had Brian Everett , who is the former longtime CEO of TMSA .
He joined me on stage to give those awards , which was important to me because we're talking about your lifetime in the organization and although I was a member before I took on the executive director role , I can't speak to your whole longevity here so being able to have him come and speak his words I thought would be pretty meaningful to hear all that .
So what was that experience like for you and the journey that kind of got you to there ?
Well , first of all , I was completely shocked and I'm still in shock , but so honored that I received that , I get emotional just thinking about it . Now I understand why . So anyone who saw that picture , it was a Mardi Gras theme for the awards banquet .
So that hat is not something that I normally would wear so like , but it is now forever infamous with my lifetime achievement award . So I hat is not something that I normally would wear so like , but it is now forever infamous with my lifetime achievement award . So it was sparkly and glam . So that's kind of how I am , so I'm cool with that .
But so I guess I've been part of organizations like this since really the start of my marketing career in you know , in this industry , which is I've been in the industry . It'll be 30 years with Pitt Ohio in August . I've been doing marketing probably 27 and a half of those years at Pitt Ohio .
So I've always been part of some of you know an organization like that . And since marketing it started with the ATA sales and marketing council that evolved into the T SMA council , that evolved into the T S M a . But really what started me going was really um , uh , uh applying or like , uh for awards .
Like you know , I'm going to submit for a marketing award or whatever , and that's kind of how it started . The ball rolling for me was and the feedback on the awards and everything is great .
So if if anyone has not submitted an award for a trailblazer , they definitely should , because I think the feedback you get is is really great and you can tweak things accordingly and you know , and you can win too and kind of validate what you're doing from a marketing space . So that's that's a side note there that I just had to say .
But that's really kind of how I started . And then I kind of saw who the board members were and I saw , well , they needed , you know , they needed help . And it's just kind of like , in my nature , that's the kind of person I am , I like to help people and like to help . So like , yeah , I'll volunteer . And so I started to volunteer .
Then I was like part of committees and then , you know , at TMSA I went through all of like the chairs it's a little bit different there and was a past president there . And then someone from that board asked me to join TMSA board about 12 , 13 years ago . And so I was like , yeah , absolutely .
And from there I just kind of spun off and you know I was on a committee from there and then from the committee I became a membership chair . Then I was , you know , I think secretary . Then I moved into president elect , I think secretary , then I moved into president elect and then president and like all of those different aspects and avenues .
But I think getting involved is is important , but I got so much out of it myself , like I was helping , but I w I got a lot out of it and I kind of was thinking about this question a little bit and thinking about um , about what I would tell .
So like if you're new in your career right , because I was thinking about my longevity , which I think is like my longevity joining the board or joining a committee was great because you get to hear different thought processes on how strategically the organization is going to move forward or run from so many different people and that is something , honestly , when you're
young in your career and having exposure to people who are very senior in their career and hearing how they think and how they , how they think things out of like how are we going to be successful ? What are we going to do to move the organization forward and what those things are . It's priceless . There's no class that can teach that Right .
So joining and being involved and having exposure to that was , to me , I think , very impactful for myself . And then , as I , you know , continued , you know , moved on and I became , you know , a manager and now a director , so now more senior in my career .
I feel it is my responsibility and part of what I want to do from a mentor standpoint is it's now time for me to give back to people in our industry that are younger , to give back to the industry to continue the evolution of this type of thing that has brought such great education to sales and marketing professionals in our industry , and so if I can do
that small part and continue to give back like that , I think that's extremely important . So I feel like , no matter where you're at so who's ever listening to this , whether you're a VP or CMO somewhere or you're just newly starting , there's a place for you at TMSA , there's education , and then there's a way for you to give back to people .
So that , to me , I think , is extremely important and valuable , and it's a great industry . Right , we have a great industry and I think that it's just one that is dynamic and different and unique , and especially in our professions and our roles .
So wherever you're at I think that's you know this is the place for you , and I guess I just believe in it so much and I've gotten so much out of it that I am a true champion for it and true believer in it .
Absolutely . I like what you said too , like there's a place for everybody and you can continue to learn . And I think that's something like I when I joined TMSA , like I came to my first show and I immediately like went on education . And part of why I did that was I was a partner member and I wanted to know what people wanted from providers .
So like it was kind of like a cheat sheet in a way , and I didn't do it aggressively , it just made my content back at the office better because I was hearing directly from people about what type of services they would want . But then I also was able to learn more about the industry because I was a service provider .
I didn't work that traditional marketing role at a transportation firm . So like it helped me understand the industry so much more . And then I moved .
Well , I stayed on education but I moved to marketing and I and I encourage marketing now like if there's something new that you want to try , that like you aren't allowed to try at your company , like run that idea past me . And that's definitely what I did as a marketing person .
Like I remember doing the first LinkedIn Live for TMSA as marketing chair , interviewing Holly Levoda , and so now I'm like the only person that's ever done LinkedIn lives for TMSA . But that wasn't intentional . I mean , once I took this job that it was . But I wanted to test out LinkedIn lives , I wanted to see how I was able to do that .
I mean , I started my career in journalism , so like I feel like I would be able to interview people . That should be fine . But are we able to engage with a different pocket of the industry that's paying attention to TMSA ? If we do these interviews , obviously it's been successful because we continue to do them .
But I like that like you're testing it out , you're trying new things . I think the more senior you get , like that like you're testing it out and you're trying new things . I think the more senior you get , like the more you have to adapt quickly . But there's all kinds of things happening and so you can learn from the younger generation too .
That was exactly what I was going to say . That I wanted to add is that I did . I wanted to add that I learned from the newer people coming in . What are their fresh ideas ? What ? What different things do they want to try ?
I mean , eventually our decision makers are going to be retiring and people are going to be moving in that are from a different generation , and how we reach them is going to be different , and so getting that insight from younger generations and what they think is valuable , important , is just as important for me to hear .
So I'm learning from them just as much as I hope that they're learning from me . So there is that back and forth in that give and take , and I did want to add that .
So I'm glad that you kind of circled back and said that , because I wholeheartedly believe that , yeah , yeah , I think it's a really good mix and that's why I love seeing the newer energy coming into TMSA too , and we now we have such a great mix of all different types of voices , which I think is really important , because we don't know how to learn or adopt
or how to meet the needs of members or the industry or like what's happening in different pockets of marketing or sales , if we don't have those voices here . So the more people that come into committees , the more people that come up to the board , the better we are .
And it's just great all in all , just to see how the industry is getting more diverse , and it's great to see our organization get more diverse as well . So , like you know , I've been around for quite some time , so I have been the only female in many situations .
So it's great to see more of of the diversity all around , not just theme every every which way you look , and so I . That part is great because that's how we get better and stronger is by learning that way . So I agree with you wholeheartedly on that .
So Absolutely . And I feel like at TMSA we've had a really good gender diversity for a while , but we're like growing in all different types of diversity
¶ Marketing Trends and Tools in Industry
. But it was actually funny . We had a new speaker come this year and she I did my prep speaker call and she's like , okay , so it's transportation . So it's like 80% men , 20% women . I'm like , no , no , not here . I was like we have a lot of powerhouse women in this space . So it was really funny though .
But like that's , you know , if you're , if this was your first time coming to TMSA , if you are used to speaking in a more like quote-unquote , traditional transportation conference , like that is different .
So that was really cool and she was like , oh , like , how exciting , so that was cool .
Um , so it is funny because I think you're so youthful and wonderful , but like you're , like I've been around a long time and you've got a lifetime achievement award , so you have been in this industry for a long time . But what ?
Through that and as you continue in your career , what are some of the biggest marketing trends that you've seen that you really think have impacted the industry the most ?
So this was a little bit tough for me to answer when I was thinking about it , because I people are probably going to think like , oh my goodness , like our industry in general is just late to adapt to like a lot of other marketing trends that are out there .
It's just the nature of our industry , you know , and trying to push those trends it's more conservative in the way that you know you go to market , but I guess , like electronically right , like I mean , I can't believe I'm going to say this in this podcast , but I was around before . There was like email , right , we didn't have email blast .
So I'm sure 100 million percent there are people who are listening to this call , who are going to be like email . That's so old school , like you know , like you know , and meanwhile that was something that was like new right back in the day .
So it was very much , you know , very word of mouth sales calls , which are still important , that's not what I'm saying but like brochures , things like that . But the electronic digital , all of that , when that started to come in , just like anything , technology , that's the disruptor of most stuff .
Right , that's going to , I mean , as we go on to some other additional questions here . But so to me that was probably the big thing of like how we , how we've changed in that aspect of how we , how we get that communication across Right .
And then also what's awesome about digital whether it's , you know , google ads , whether it's whatever kind of digital marketing that you do , you have that like instantaneous feedback to kind of see results right , whereas before , when you're sending out mailers or postcards or things like that , you didn't have that right .
So and I think that part has been very like great for us as marketers , because we're always trying to show the metrics , prove ROI when you can and what you're doing there . So I feel like that is that technology aspect has changed the game for marketers in general and it's still continuing to change the game .
But when I started in the industry to where we are now and how we communicate or what we communicate , that to me I think has been the biggest switch , is like it was very promotional . It was very like you know , buy our service now or you know that type of thing , whereas now I think as marketers we're providing more education to our customers .
So it's more about that educational aspect , that thought leadership , what we're doing to solve problems for our customers that are going to help educate and make our potential customers or other customers smarter in the process , and I think that that's kind of where the evolution has changed in regards from that strict promotional marketing to here's some more educational
marketing and thought leadership and , you know , trying to meet those needs of those customers and providing those solutions , so like whether it's however you go about doing it . But that's , I think , the difference I feel when it comes to how we communicate as marketers .
So I think that makes sense . I think marketing continues to be an area where people are like how do you prove the ROI on ? Even with the digital , Like you said , we used to not be able to really give anything and now there's still so much and people are still pushing . Like how do you really prove the ROI ? I also love that .
Like getting something in the mail now is so exciting , even though , like that used to be like the way that you got all your marketing stuff . But , um , some of the coolest campaigns now are like direct mail , because they are different and fresh .
Again , you know trends the pendulum is is swinging right because people are going to block you from their email and stuff like that . So you know it'll come back again . Whatever you know , whatever is old is new again you know . So it's good .
It's all good . And what are you focusing , then , your marketing efforts on now ?
think you ever kind of lose the core things , like the SEO working I mean we're still working on our digital campaigns , working on our email campaigns , you know , uncovering leads I mean who doesn't want more leads that are going to be qualified and good ?
And how do you find that synergy to get the right customer at the right time , and all of that so kind of continually getting your message out there and so forth , like we're always looking at that , but just trying to get better , smarter , more efficient with how we go about doing it . So I think the core things stay the same .
It's just how do you take it to another level or kind of do that and that figuring out that exact timing I mean that's that's , that's a key right there . So , and I mean you always want to keep your brand front and center . So I think that that's important .
And how do you do that in a way that is meaningful to the customer , that the customer is not going to like unsubscribe or , you know , not click on your ad or something like that . So I think we're always trying to evolve that way . You know , whether it's , you know , social media , google ads , whatever .
I mean , you know we were trying a lot of different things with social media . I know , like you know , we were one of the first to come like to do social media in our space with like Facebook and stuff like that , and I think , like that's evolved so much , even like how we look at social media as as B2B organizations .
You know everyone was like , oh , what , how , how , how will B2B get sales from social media ? And we didn't know right . We just knew we had to be there . So we were just there . And now you , you see that you can get B2B . I mean , there wasn't . I don't think maybe LinkedIn was just starting , maybe when we started with our Facebook page or whatever .
But I remember , like as we started to do that and grow and evolve , how social media has changed and how you use it for all sorts of things now .
So , from recruitment to B2B sales , so , besides social , are there any other tools that you have found most helpful ? Have you guys started embracing AI at all ?
So yes , we have . Like , our team does try to use AI in various different ways , whether it is with social , because there's some AI tools helping to write content . It helps with . Our graphic designer uses it at times too with , like , editing various videos and trying to , you know , remove sound or various things like that .
So there's all kinds of different AI platforms out there that you can use to kind of help , I think , assist you in your marketing efforts . Right , it's not going to take that away from you .
You still have to go back and you still have to edit , you still have to tweak things , you still have to make them your brand voice , because sometimes they're not going to get your brand voice right .
So I think that AI is going to help get you there , like maybe 80% of the way there or 70% , and you can tweak the final 30% or whatever but it's going to make you more efficient .
It's going to get you like sometimes you know , especially when you've been doing it for a long time and you're marketing the same services over and over again how do you spin that in a different way ? So asking AI to look at it and get like a fresh perspective is also nice . So I think we've used it in that in that way a lot , I think .
But I would say the biggest tool that we have found and we just sort of implemented we sort of had a homegrown CRM system that really didn't have a marketing component to it . But about three years ago we have a CRM system now that we have that marketing side to it as well .
So for me and my team it's been so awesome to see the actual behaviors to that particular client or that customer and what they're doing and creating various you know , non-manually right like things that we can do that are like now automatic it's .
It saved us time but also made us stronger in our messaging as we move forward and kind of seeing those behaviors and seeing what's happening on the sales side , so that link between sales and marketing .
So I'm a firm believer that when sales and marketing work , so I'm a firm believer that when sales and marketing work together , that is really when your company succeeds . And I think the more you can create the synergies between your sales and marketing team , the stronger and more profitable and more revenue your company is going to see at the end of the day .
So I think that that's important . I think that's why , you know , not plugging the association again , but I am because we have sales and marketers here , so we learn from each other , because there's there's natural friction sometimes between the sales and marketing teams and but at the end of the day we're learning from them . What do they need ?
And hopefully they can see from us what we need . We need from that too , and I think that's important . So I think having that collaboration and cooperation between those two areas is vital . So Absolutely .
One last question for you , which is my favorite . I ask everyone who comes on , but if you could go back in time and advise a younger Candy and this could be something personally or professionally when would you go back to and what would you tell her ?
go back to and what would you tell her ? I thought about this a lot and I thought about , like , what time in my life would I go back ?
And I think about like when I was a little girl and where I came from as a little girl , because it's going to be more on the personal side , but it also affects the professional side because , as much as we want to admit it or not , our professional and personal lives do get intertwined with each other .
You know what I mean and I think that I probably would go back to when I maybe I'm going to try not to get emotional about it either but like maybe when I was like 8 , 10 years old , and I would say there's going to be a lot of challenges that you're going to face in your life Hard ones , difficult ones , but you're going to be OK .
Don't be scared , be fearless , go out there , knock it dead , give it your all . All the time I've always had that attitude of , like you know , just give it your all and be positive . I've been very blessed to be have a very positive , optimistic outlook .
So I would just say continue that way , continue to dream , continue to strive and don't be scared , cause it's going to be okay , because I think we've all had moments in our lives like , whether you're a teenager or you're 10 or you're whatever , and you have self-doubt . Right , don't doubt yourself . You know , and I still have self-doubt .
I think we all have that . Naturally . It's hard to sometimes get that head trash out of your brain right and not have some self-doubt , especially winning a Lifetime Achievement Award . I'm like , oh my gosh , I can't even believe that I've won this achievement . It's crazy to me to think that way and it makes me so proud that .
But I'm not done striving for more yet . I'm not done still giving back to TMSA . I'm not still done giving back to my job and to my team and to everyone that I know . So that's kind of what I would say to myself , I guess , is like , don't have that doubt , you're going to be good , stay strong and you're going to make it . You know .
So kind of like Mary Tyler Moore , who I love , so like , like a little bit like that make it after all , as I throw my beret in the air , that's some great advice that I think that we can all take , and thank you so much for being on the show . Thank you for all that you do for TMSA . Tmsa has some exciting things still happening this year .
So , even though Elevate is over , you can still register for the Executive Summit , which is our smaller conference . That will be in Hoboken , New Jersey . That's geared for executives , so normally directors and above come to this conference . It's October 10th through 11th . It's in budget season .
We're talking about all the important things we need to know about when we're making our decisions for next year . So hopefully we'll see you all there . And then we talked about awards and things that happen Trailblazers . So we give out our Trailblazers and our Rising Stars award at Elevate .
We did our Purpose award back in April , but our Mountain Mover awards are still open for submissions now through August 2nd and then they will be given out and awarded at that Executive Summit on October 10th . So if you know a sales and marketing top-notch performer that you want to nominate , please do . You can scan the QR code or look in the show notes .
¶ TMSA History and Stories
So all things exciting happening at TMSA . We are still . I'll pop up this century collection one more time as well . So , like I said , we're still looking for people to tell us their TMSA story . We love hearing the little clips of people talking about what it meant for them , what they learned .
So , like I said , we're still looking for people to tell us their TMSA story . We love hearing the little clips of people talking about what it meant for them , what they learned , and , if you are interested in learning more about our history , we have all that together thanks to Candi and our 100-year task force .
So thank you all for listening , thank you , Candi , for coming on the show , and I hope everybody has a good day .